UAAP: Tigers shake off Bulldogs, barge into the Finals

The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers are making a trip back to the UAAP men's seniors division basketball Finals after defeating the streaking National University Bulldogs, 63-57, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. It is UST's first trip back to the finals since winning it in 2006. This year, the team enjoyed a twice-to-beat advantage heading into their Final Four match up against NU, which hadn't made the playoffs since 2001. Kevin Ferrer scored 17 points and limited National University star Bobby Ray Parks to only 12 points, as the second-seeded Tigers overpowered the third-seeded Bulldogs late. “Sobrang saya na second year pa lang ako, nakapasok na sa Finals”, said the lanky 6’4” forward Ferrer. The former UAAP Juniors Most Valuable Player played lockdown defense on the 6’4” Parks, who normed 21.4 PPG throughout the season. Parks took twelve shots, making only four of them and missing all his three-pointers, while Ferrer played a better counterpart, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs went on run late in the fourth quarter, holding the Tigers scoreless after a three-pointer by Fortuna upped the UST lead to 59-50. Gelo Alolino abused the lane with two quick lay-ups, part of a 7-0 blast that made it a one-possession game, 59-57, but those were the last points NU scored, 2:34 left. After a time-out, Mariano took the game in his hands, did a whirl, and made a short stab to the rim to keep the lead safe at 61-57. NU fumbled their shots, and failed to get the ball to their stars Parks and Emmanuel Mbe. After one final miss by Jeoffrey Javillonar, an elated Kevin Ferrer darted to the lane for a quick lay-up just as the buzzer sounded. “Pinaghirapan ng mga bata ito. Destiny”, said UST coach Pido Jarencio. NU held the lead for a brief moment in the first quarter, as they produced a 6-0 run that made the score 12-11 with 2:28 left. A split at the line by Aljon Mariano and a Jeric Fortuna floater tagged it at 14-12, but two triples by Denice Villamor off the bench sandwiched an and-one play by Louie Vigil to give the host school the lead, 18-17. A lay-in by Henri Betayene added to the Bulldogs' advantage, 20-17, but tempers flared after former UST High School standout Kyle Neypes committed two technical fouls. The first was a double call on him and Teng after the two collided on the floor, and then the second was on a flop after Aljon Mariano drove in a right elbow. Neypes fell while kicking out his legs, which led to him being thrown out. That led to two charities by Mariano, followed by a triple by Ferrer, a quick five-point swing that put them back in charge, 22-20. Parks and Khobuntin would tie the game again at 24-all, but Ferrer wasn't done yet, rousing the crowd with a circus shot over Parks that banked off the rim and in for his ninth and tenth points in the period, 32-26. A triple by Javillonar and a Mark De Guzman transition play made it a one-point game, 32-31, but UST kept up the pressure, and went into the break up 38-34. The Bulldogs found their second wind in the third quarter, going for an 11-2 run capped by a Robin Rono lay-up, 49-45, 3:31 left in the period. A triple by Fortuna and two charities by Mariano were followed by a split by Parks, tying things at 50-all, but the Tigers wrapped up the period with six straight. Both teams modified their starting line-ups. UST started forward Melo Afuang in place of Aljon Mariano to slide Kevin Ferrer down to small forward, while guard-forward Ajeet Singh started in place of Villamor. Marquee players for both teams failed to match their season averages, with the likes of Emmanuel Mbe (4PTS, 1/5) and Jeric Teng (6PTS, 2/13) sporadically contributing for both sides. Turnover points were key for UST to take home the victory, as the Espana-based squad made 19 points off 18 NU turnovers. The Tigers also tallied eight steals compared to just one by National U. Ferrer topped the scoring chart with 17 points, followed by Abdul who tallied 15 and Mariano who chipped in 14 of his own. Javillonar made 17 points on 4-11 shooting, while Parks added 12. UST had swept the season series against NU and made it a hat-trick with this victory. They now await the winner of the 1 versus 4 match-up, Ateneo versus La Salle. “Di na kami namoromroblema. Ang proporoblemahin na lang naming yung manalo sa Ateneo-La Salle”, said Jarencio. – RAF/AMD, GMA News The scores: UST – Ferrer 17, Abdul 15, Mariano 14, Fortuna 8, Teng 6, Vigil 3, Bautista 0, Afuang 0, Pe 0, Lo 0     NU – Javillonar 15, Parks 12, Alolino 8, Villamor 6, Betayene 5, Mbe 4, Khobuntin 3, Rono 2, De Guzman 2, Singh 0, Labing-Isa 0, Neypes 0