Tigers thrash AMA with 71-point beating to notch first D-League win
By Anton Villegas
The Builders Warehouse-UST unlocked their first win in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirant’s Cup with its annihilation of AMA Online, 150–79, Wednesday morning, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Nic Cabañero led the way for UST as he scored 19 points, followed by Sherwin Concepion’s outstanding triple-double composed of 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Tigers vented their ire early as they started the game with an 11–0 run in the first two minutes then finished the opening salvo with a 16-point advantage over AMA, 36–20, led by big man Christian Manaytay who had 9 points in the period.
AMA starting forward Bambam Palana opened the second quarter with a three trying to keep it close but the Tigers responded with stellar execution on both ends. The Builders Warehouse-UST closed the half with a score of 72–34.
AMA Online had a hard time executing their offense as the Tigers forced multiple turnovers in the first half with their pressure defense. Committing double digits in turnovers in the first half and finishing the game with 27 turnovers which opened up UST’s offense.
Willie Wilson started the second half with four points in the first two minutes of play.
Continuing their energetic defense and converting points off AMA’s turnovers, UST scored 45 points in the third period, being able to crack the century mark to close out the frame.
AMA Online tried to close the gap despite scoring only 26 in the period. The quarter ended as it saw the Tigers carry a 57-point lead heading into the final frame, 117–60.
UST started the fourth quarter where their foreign recruits in Gani Stevens and Wilson saw to slowly work them up to the Tigers’ system. Wilson finished the game with a total of 18 points, while Stevens finished with 4 given that he played only 13 minutes in the game.
Furthermore, rookie star Kean Baclaan dropped dimes and finished with an efficient double-double, dishing out 11 points and 11 assists with only 1 turnover.
The Tigers look to carry this momentum tomorrow as they face a tall task in Marinerong Pilipino which is led by Gilas standout Juan Gomez de Liaño, at 12:30 PM, at the same venue.
