The reigning Rookie of the Year, Cansino, fired a season-high 15 points, hauled five rebounds and made three steals to lead UST to its 6th win. #USTbeatsNU #UAAP82

CJ Cansino of UST takes it strong to the hoop. (David John Cubangbang)

ANTIPOLO CITY – University of Santo Tomas (UST) wanted to issue a strong message to National University (NU).

And CJ Cansino made sure that it would be sent.

With the drama brought by an alleged poaching incident serving as backdrop, Cansino and the Growling Tigers pulled off an emphatic 88-76 win over the Bulldogs in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Yñares Sports Center here.

Cansino had a breakout performance to steal the spotlight away from swingman Rhenz Abando, who was benched in their previous game after allegedly listening to a recruitment pitch from the Bulldogs.

The reigning Rookie of the Year, Cansino, fired a season-high 15 points, hauled five rebounds and made three steals while Soulemane Chabi Yo contributed 16 markers, 14 rebounds and three assists to help the Tigers kick the Bulldogs out of contention.

“The game plan was executed perfectly and a lot of players stepped up. They played beautiful basketball and had a lot of fun,” said Ayo, who lauded his wards for coming up with a performance that somehow put the attempted “piracy” behind.

“They did what we, coaches, told them and they did it with full responsibility.”

After leading by only eight points at the half, Mark Nonoy engineered a rally with five points to help the Tigers drop a 14-5 run for a 52-35 count. Then, Abando scored on a pull-up jumper to hike the lead to 19, 54-35, to build enough momentum entering the payoff period.

“We learned from the mistakes we have committed in our first game against them, where we didn’t have a strong start,” said Ayo, referring to their 87-74 overtime win over the Bulldogs in the first round.

The Ildefonso brothers – Dave and Shaun – kept the Bulldogs afloat amid the strong Tigers surge in the fourth quarter, where they erected a 20-point lead, 86-66, in the final four minutes of the match.

Dave tallied 27 points, six rebounds and four assists while Shaun registered 15 markers for NU, which kissed its Final Four chances goodbye.