University of Santo Tomas (UST) and National University (NU) booked their spots in the NSAC 2026 College Basketball Campus Tour Final after scoring semifinal victories on Saturday at the Blue Eagle Gym inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City.
The Growling Tigers outlasted defending University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion De La Salle University in overtime, 115-107, to punch its ticket to the Finals while the Bulldogs came alive in the fourth quarter to stun reigning National Collegiate Athletic Association titlist San Beda University, 83-80, to advance to the title clash.
UST and NU are disputing the crown at press time.
Early in the fourth quarter, tempers flared as multiple players were disqualified in a heated sequence at the 8:29 mark of the fourth quarter, including La Salle’s Vhoris Marasigan, UST’s Ivanne Calum, Mark Llemit and Koji Buenaflor, shifting the momentum of a tightly contested finish.
The chaos gave way to a tense final stretch, where La Salle leaned on Mason Amos and Jacob Cortez to force overtime and knot the game at 93-all.
UST seized early control in overtime behind an early triple from Amiel Acido and another from Mur Alao, building a six-point cushion. The Green Archers repeatedly trimmed the deficit to as low as three, but the Growling Tigers answered every challenge, with Gelo Crisostomo eventually knocking down a dagger three with 1:11 left for a 110-99 advantage.
UST kept control in the final seconds as Acido put the finishing touch with a last layup to seal the 115-107 overtime victory.
“This is what we’ve been working hard for since we retired from last UAAP season. We didn’t take any day off. We really wanted to get this win and, hopefully, the title on Sunday,” Acido said.
