The UST Junior Growling Tigresses celebrate after pulling off a 63-57 win over the NUNS Lady Bullpups to capture the Season 87 UAAP girls’ basketball tournament title on Thursday.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UAAP
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With their dream of a perfect season on the line, Sandra Abrantes stepped up to lead University of Santo Tomas (UST) to a thrilling 63-57 victory over National University Nazareth School to rule Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) girls’ basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
With UST trailing 52-57 after a layup by Maria Sales with 4:32 remaining, Abrantes ignited an 11-0 run, scoring nine points in that crucial stretch to seal UST’s perfect season.
Season 87 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Barby Dajao and Abrantes combined for back-to-back layups, giving UST a commanding 63-57 lead with just 17.2 seconds left — a margin too steep for the Lady Bullpups to overcome.
Gilas Youth guard Aubrey Lapasaran and Zaydhen Rosano attempted desperate three-pointers in the dying seconds, but both misfired, sealing the Junior Growling Tigresses’ coronation.
Defense played a pivotal role in UST’s triumph, as the Tigresses shut down NUNS for the final 4:32 of the tightly contested match.
“Coach Sen (Dysangco) always tells us to be ready when we’re called upon,” Abrantes said.
“I just did my best to help the team, and as the coach told me, do whatever it takes to win the game. I just did what I could contribute because we’ve sacrificed so much for this, and we truly deserve it.”
Dajao capped off her remarkable individual season in style, claiming Finals MVP honors after averaging 23.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 steals in the two-game championship series.
“I’m really grateful to my teammates who stepped up, especially Sandra. We didn’t expect the game to be this close, but we just gave our best so that all our hard work wouldn’t go to waste,” Dajao said.
The triumph marked UST’s first official UAAP girls’ basketball title, following their co-champion finish with Adamson University in the inaugural tournament back in Season 82. That series was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The victory also underscored UST’s dominance over the Lady Bullpups, whom they defeated in all four Season 87 meetings en route to their unblemished 8-0 season sweep.
Dajao fired 22 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block while Abrantes contributed 14 points and five rebounds for UST in just 11 minutes of action.
