Tigresses bare fangs, crush Lady Scorpions by 72

University of Santo Tomas (UST) picked up where it left off, dismantling Centro Escolar University (CEU) with a commanding 72-point rout, 105-33, in the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) Invitational Tournament on Wednesday at the Enderun Gym.

After a three-week break in their schedule, the Growling Tigresses showed no signs of rust with six players scoring in double figures to set the stage for the dominant victory.

Kent Pastrana led the charge for UST, pouring in 22 points on an efficient 63 percent shooting from the field while also contributing seven assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Oma Onianwa recorded a monster double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds, adding four steals and four blocks to her stat line.

Rookie Gin Relliquette chipped in 14 points and five assists, while Ayesha Pescador delivered 12 points in just seven minutes of play.

Former University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player Eka Soriano and Karylle Sierba also made their presence felt, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The 72-point blowout set the record for the largest winning margin in the tournament’s inaugural season.

UST led by as many as 73 points with 1:12 left in the game, following a Pescador three-pointer that pushed the score to 105-32.

“Good, but not perfect — not excellent,” UST head coach Ged Austria said.

“Despite the score, there are still a lot of things we need to improve on. We set a goal because, as you know, the elimination format requires us to have high winning margins while keeping our opponents’ scores low.

“Overall, there are still technicalities we need to address. We committed too many turnovers despite not facing intense defensive pressure. Even with the lopsided score, you’d be surprised at how many turnovers we had.”

Meanwhile, the Lady Scorpions suffered their second straight loss, dropping to 1-3.

Diana Defeles led the Lady Scorpions with nine points and five rebounds.

In other games, New Zealand-Bluefire and San Juan secured hard-fought victories.

Snow Peñaranda came through in the clutch, sinking the game-winning basket to lift the Valkyries to a thrilling 70-68 win over Far Eastern University (FEU) in the opening game.

With the score tied at 68-all, Camille Claro delivered a perfect pocket pass to Peñaranda, who drove into the lane and finished a tough layup over Vic Pasilang’s outstretched arms, putting the Valkyries ahead with 8.8 seconds left.

FEU had a chance to respond, but Erica Lopez’s contested three-pointer fell short, sealing New Zealand-Bluefire’s third straight win and improving their record to 4-1.

Peñaranda finished with 22 points, six rebounds, and three steals to lead the Valkyries, while Altita Quingco provided solid support with 12 points and eight rebounds. Bettina Binaohan nearly secured a double-double, tallying nine points and 10 boards.

In the nightcap, the San Juan Lady Knights eked out a 62-58 victory over Cavite-TOL to bounce back from their previous loss.

Karen Salapong led San Juan, now 3-1, with 14 points. Annick Edimo Tiky added 13 points and eight rebounds, while captain LJ Miranda posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.