Tigers fall short to CEU amid foreign recruits' debut
By Joie Frances Timbas
Builders Warehouse-UST suffered a lopsided loss to the Centro Escolar University Scorpions, 69–86, in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup on Tuesday, July 19, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Both teams came off a two-game skid looking for their first regular season win, but UST maintained its place in the losing column despite having Gani Stevens and Willie Wilson making their collegiate debut in the country.
Wilson, despite his transition from the guard position to a big man role, was able to contribute 11 points on a 50% field goal percentage alongside 4 rebounds, and the usual main cast of Sherwin Concepcion garnered 12 points while topscorer Nic Cabanero had an all-around performance with 16 markers, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, but were not enough for the Tigers to bag their first win of the tourney.
In the opening frame, the Tigers allowed a long, grueling run from being down 4–5 at the 6:31 mark, which grew to a 4–15 deficit with three minutes left. Royce Mantua, Stevens, and Wilson managed to score to end the quarter at 10–21.
The struggles of the Tigers continued in the second quarter as they were scoreless until Bryan Santos knocked down a triple with five minutes left in the frame, with UST trailing behind 17 points, 13–30. The lead continued as the first half wrapped at 28–45.
With a fresh new half, UST was able to outscore the Scorpions 18–15 in the third quarter. They managed to cut the lead to 10, 45–55 with less than two minutes left in the frame, but CEU sparked a run to end the quarter at 46–60.
In the final quarter, the Tigers just could not find answers from the huge lead incurred from the past quarters, losing time, energy, and momentum as the game ended at 69–86.
The Tigers averaged 27/78 attempts with a 34-percent field goal percentage and notched 8/37 attempts, 21 percent, from beyond the arc.
The Tigers hope to find team chemistry with their recent foreign acquisitions as they face the Adalem Construction-St. Clare next, on Thursday, July 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
St. Clare, who is handled by Tigers coach Jinino Manansala, is ranked third in the team standings, while his Builder Warehouse-backed UST team, is placed at the bottom.
