UST punches finals ticket

Third-ranked University of Santo Tomas (UST) completed its dismantling of second-seeded Far Eastern University-Diliman (FEU-D), carving out a hard-fought 67-61 victory to secure a final ticket to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 junior high school basketball tournament on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With the win, the Tiger Cubs are set to face a dominant University of the East (UE) squad in a best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

UE had earlier secured its spot in the finals after dethroning inaugural champion National University Nazareth School with a commanding 85-64 win, giving it a full week of preparation for the championship round.

UST, meanwhile, had to dig deep to overcome a resilient FEU-D squad twice, beginning with an 84-75 win last Wednesday.

The Tiger Cubs dropped both elimination-round games to the Junior Warriors but showed that they are capable of challenging them after narrowly losing in their second-round meeting on 30 October, 78-80.

“We have to double our effort against UE, especially on defense,” Tiger Cubs coach Noli Mejos said.

“If we were able to lose to them by two points before, we will work hard to win it this time.”

UST held a 59-53 cushion with 6:00 left in the game, but the Baby Tamaraws mounted a furious comeback.

CP Miranda’s four-point spurt and an inside bucket from Mark Dulin tied the game at 59-all with 1:53 remaining.

Gab Castro, however, emerged as the unsung hero for the Tiger Cubs.

The 15-year-old center from Victory Christian International School delivered three clutch inside baskets, including an and-one layup with 23.4 seconds left, effectively sealing the game for UST with a comfortable 66-61 lead.