Tigers to stay hungry, focused

It took nine long years and 17 matches before University of Santo Tomas (UST) could finally solve the puzzle that is Ateneo de Manila University.

A telling 16-0 run in a scorching fourth-quarter rampage ended the very long wait as the Growling Tigers finally scored one over the Blue Eagles, 74-64, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament late Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

But more than saving a measure of pride and matching their total win output last season with their second straight victory, UST coach Pido Jarencio couldn’t be any prouder of his boys’ efforts to regain the respect of the league and its faithful.

“This is for the UST community. Thank you for the support, we’re slowly gaining more and more supporters each game. Tickets are getting sold out (at the UST office). That’s a problem but a good problem,” Jarencio said in his usual jest-laced postgame interview.

Kidding aside, the mentor praised the new breed of Tigers buying in on their mission to reestablish a winning culture in a team that had been battered in the past three seasons since the return of the contest post-pandemic.

The last three stagings of the first semester centerpiece sport saw UST win a total of six games, including two in Jarencio’s coaching return the previous season.

“We are trying to establish an identity by winning games. You can’t have a decent identity if you can’t win,” Jarencio said.

Former Blue Eagle guard Forthsky Padrigao’s presence has stabilized the flow of UST’s game and complemented the explosiveness of Nic Cabañero, the consistency of Malian center Mo Tounkara in the paint and silent operator Gelo Crisostomo.