University of the East (UE) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) created a logjam for fourth place in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 boys’ basketball tournament after separate victories on Wednesday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The Junior Warriors dispatched winless University of the Philippines Integrated School Fighting Maroons, 94-61, while defending champions Tiger Cubs escaped with a 75-73 win over the Adamson University Baby Falcons.
With the wins by UST and UE, combined with Adamson’s loss, all three teams now share identical 4-6 records. De La Salle-Zobel, currently 4-5, was still set to face Ateneo High School at press time.
“We really needed this win to keep our chances alive. But I’m not happy with the way we played, especially in the fourth quarter. If we want to make it to the Final Four, we need to play better,” said third-year Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Inigo, whose team has won three of its last five games.
Though it was a wire-to-wire victory for the Tiger Cubs, who led by as much as 13 points, they struggled down the stretch.
The trio of Jarl Artango, Mac Jenodia and Fran Flores rallied the Baby Falcons late, with Flores knocking down a triple with 12 seconds left to cut the lead to 75-73. Adamson managed a defensive stop afterwards, but could not get a shot off before time expired.
“Again, our problem is the fourth quarter and it showed again in this game,” Inigo said, recalling a similar issue in their 79-70 first-round win over Adamson.
“We will talk about it to determine our problem.”
Kirk Canete sparked UST early, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the first half while adding six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Nigerian big man Ola Ajani anchored the Tigers with 11 points and 16 rebounds, and Jetlee Melano contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.