Message delivered

They played beautiful basketball and had a lot of fun.

CJ Cansino takes it strong to the hole. DAVID JOHN CUBANGBANG

ANTIPOLO CITY — University of Santo Tomas (UST) wanted to issue a strong message to National University (NU).

And CJ Cansino made sure that it would be delivered.

With the drama brought by an alleged poaching incident serving as backdrop, Cansino and the Growling Tigers pulled off an emphatic 88-76 win over the Bulldogs in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Ynares Sports Center here.

Meanwhile, Far Eastern University dominated De La Salle University, 81-60, in the second game.

L-Jay Gonzales and Alex Stockton delivered, lifting the Tamaraws to fourth spot with a 6-6 win-loss mark.

Cansino, who finished last season with a knee injury, had a breakout performance to steal the spotlight away from swingman Rhenz Abando, who was benched in their previous game after reportedly listening to a recruitment pitch from the Bulldogs.

The reigning Rookie of the Year, Cansino, fired a season-high 15 points, five rebounds and three steals while Soulemane Chabi Yo pumped in 16 markers on 14 rebounds and three assists to help the Tigers kick the Bulldogs out of contention.

“The game plan was executed perfectly and a lot of players stepped up. They played beautiful basketball and had a lot of fun,” said Ayo, who lauded his wards for coming up with a performance that somehow put the poaching incident behind.

“They did what we, coaches, told them and they did it with full responsibility.”

After leading by only eight points at the half, Mark Nonoy engineered a rally with five points to help the Tigers drop a 14-5 run for a 52-35 count. Then, Abando scored on a pull-up jumper to hike the lead to 19, 54-35, and build enough momentum entering the payoff period.

“We learned from the mistakes we have committed in our first game against them, where we didn’t have a strong start,” said Ayo, referring to their 87-74 overtime win over the Bulldogs in the first round.

The Ildefonso brothers — Dave and Shaun — kept the Bulldogs afloat amid the strong Tigers surge in the fourth quarter, where they erected a 20-point lead, 86-66, in the final four minutes of the match.