UST squanders promising start, succumbs to ADMU for ninth straight loss
By Rob Andrew Lo Dongiapon
The Growling Tigers fueled UST’s upset hopes very early. Right until the law of averages hit Thomasians a reality check.
After zooming to a 10–3 lead in the first quarter, UST continued to fall down the rabbit hole of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament, yielding to a 55–72 loss against the Ateneo Blue Eagles inside the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Thursday evening.
UST was off to an encouraging start as the Tigers found cracks in an otherwise solid Ateneo defense while coupled with the Blue Eagles’ lackluster shooting early in the first salvo.
However, the Tigers could not sustain their strides, conceding 19 straight Ateneo points to ultimately ice the game in favor of the Blue Eagles.
Nic Cabañero carried on his season-long scoring spree with 26 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three and 45.5 percent overall from the field.
He was instrumental in the Tigers’ lone meaningful quarter, when the Espana-based team recovered from a near 10-minute scoreless stretch to outscore Ateneo, 17–13, in the second quarter.
Adama Faye backed the King Tiger up with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks, but it all went to naught once more.
UST (1–9) slid to its ninth consecutive loss in the season, retaining its place in the bottom of the standings as former Tigers Jervy Cruz, Kevin Ferrer, and Louie Vigil were seen watching the game in the venue.
Ateneo leaned on its balanced attack en route to victory as Ange Kouame, fresh from national team duties, put up 14 markers, seven boards, and three blocks while BJ Andrade also had 14 with four rebounds, improving their win-loss card to 7–3.
The Tigers look to snap their nine-game skid as they clash against the Final Four-clinched NU Bulldogs on Sunday, 1:00 p.m., at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
