Tigers Rule Over Red Lions In PCCL Jungle

The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers defeated the reigning NCAA champions San Beda College Red Lions, 63-60, in Final Four round robin play of the Philippine Collegiate Championship League, Friday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

The win put UST at 2-0, with victories over 1-1 teams Ateneo and San Beda. Even if the Tigers fall to Southern Islands champs South Western University Cobras on Sunday, they'd still advance to the Finals as those two squads bested SWU.

San Beda and Ateneo meanwhile, figure in a knockout game for the other Finals spot, also on Sunday.

Aljon Mariano, himself a former San Beda Red Cub, tallied 16 points including 11 in the second half, to go with six rebounds and one steal against his former school.

After trailing for most of the first half, the Tigers outscored the Red Lions 18-9 in the third quarter to put San Beda in a hole they could not climb out from.

After the tip-off, both teams showcased good execution on the offensive end. San Beda led by a slim margin, 14-13, as Kyle Pascual and Jeric Teng had six and seven points, respectively, through seven minutes of play.

Baser Amer, who checked in with two minutes and change remaining in the quarter, commanded an 11-2 run to close the first quarter. Amer drew a bucket and racked up four dimes in the stretch while holding UST without a field goal to put his team ahead with a 25-15 lead.

Art dela Cruz started the second quarter with three straight points, but it didn’t take long for the Tigers to find their rhythm back. Kevin Ferrer drilled a jumper off a curl, igniting a 10-2 run,30-25, led by Ed Daquioag’s five points.

Ryusei Koga made a three-pointer, scoring five in a 7-2 counterattack for San Beda, but the Tigers had the second quarter’s final say. Crafty inside play by Karim Abdul, Melo Afuang and Teng produced an 8-2 rally in the last two minutes that cut their deficit to four, 39-35.

Early in the third quarter, the Red Lions leaked out for a pair of fast break lay-ups by Koga and Amer, 43-37. But UST started taking better care of the ball, and San Beda was stifled by the Tigers’ defense in the halfcourt set.

Aljon Mariano and Ferrer led the Tigers’ offense as they slashed to the rim for 11 points in a 16-5 romp over the next eight minutes. The Red Lions made just two field goals in that span and trailed 53-48 heading into the payoff period.

The Red Lions recovered in the fourth quarter, and quietly plugged away to draw within one, 59-58, on a Jake Pascual bailout jumper with five minutes to go. However, Mariano replied with four straight for the Tigers to ward off their foes, 63-58, forcing San Beda to call a timeout with two and a half minutes remaining.

San Beda would prevent the Tigers from scoring anew, but they themselves could not come away with the win. The Red Lions managed another jumper by Kyle Pascual, but were frustrated by the Tigers’ defense. A three-ball by Anjo Caram did not find the bottom of the net in San Beda’s last meaningful possession, allowing UST to escape with their second win of the tournament.

The Growling Tigers out-rebounded the Red Lions 51-32.

source: Job de Leon, GMA News