FilOil: SWU earns graceful exit with win over UST

It has been a rough-and-tumble campaign for the Southwestern University Cobras, but they earned themselves a graceful exit from the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Cup after outlasting the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers 64-63, on Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. The Growling Tigers had 10.9 seconds to come up with a decent shot after SWU guard Monbert Arong committed a traveling infraction in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. On the last possession, the Tigers swung the ball to Kevin Ferrer, who missed a game-winning three-pointer as time expired, handing the Cobras only their third win of the tournament. The win gives the Cobras a final record of 3-5, and they will have to wait for an extremely fortunate turn of events to be able to enter the next round of the tournament. UST comes out on the bad end of .500, dipping to 1-2 after their first three games. The stage was set for a nail-biter after a short jumper by SWU point guard Jacques Bautista evened the game at 57-all. Teng came off a UST timeout with a short turnaround jumper, which Cobras swingman Melvin Holper countered with a lay-up of his own. On the ensuing possession, Holper hit an open triple, giving the Cobras a 62-59 lead. As UST missed the following offensive possession, Growling Tigers marquee player Aljon Mariano was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul on SWU guard Monbert Arong, who sank one free throw. Holper lost the ball on the possession, and a triple by Kevin Ferrer inched the Tigers closer at 63-62. The win erased an almost bitter ending for the Cobras, who lost Arong to an injury. Arong was carried off the game in a stretcher, unable to speak and pointing to his knee, which he seemingly sprained on a foray to the hoop. The Cobras’ shooting gave them the W, as they made 23 of their 46 tries (50 percent), as compared to the Tigers, who had troubles finding a rhythm offensively, making only 21 out of their 66 attempts (32 percent). Arong led the Cobras with 16 points, followed by Landry Sanjo, who scored 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Holper contributed 10 of his own. The Growling Tigers started Paulo Pe, Robin Tan, Jeric Teng, Kim Lo and Karim Abdul, while Southwestern started Bernie Bregondo, Jacques Bautista, Landry Sanji, Mark Panerio, and Monbert Arong. UST had some trouble generating offense, feeling the effects of Jeric Fortuna’s absence, after the veteran point guard played out all his years of eligibility. The team’s starting guard Robin Tan flubbed two open corner triples and was blocked on a fast break possession before Coach Pido Jarencio decided to slot combo guard Clark Bautista into the point guard position. A shot by SWU center Landry Sanjo put the Cobras in front momentarily, as a pair of triples coming from Bautista and an Aljon Mariano drive drove in a four-point wedge between the two teams, 13-9. UST’s zone defense worked perfectly on the Cobras, who failed to make anything from distance. Coach Yayoy Alcoseba subbed in guard Adam Mohammed before the dying minutes of the first quarter, a move that paid off as he drilled a triple to cut the lead to a point by the end of the first, 13-12. Both teams kept breathing down each other’s necks, until Coach Jarencio told his boys to shift to a full court press, putting two pressure defenders on the ball-handlers. The tactic proved effective, as UST took the lead from there, going up by six points after a nifty hook by power forward Paulo Pe, 27-21. Southwestern U’s offense turned dry in the second quarter, unable to convert anything from the field in the last five minutes. After reserve forward Melvin Holper missed a wide-open triple, coach Alcoseba flailed his arms in frustration. The Cobras though were able to pull within four after guard Monbert Arong drew a foul from UST reserve Edcor Marata, shortly before time expired, closing the gap to 27-23 before the half, with UST on top. The Tigers had the rebounding edge by halftime, hauling down 25 rebounds to SWU’s 15. Abdul and Mariano had six caroms apiece, and the duo also paced the team in scoring with 10 and six points respectively. The UST offense was stagnant in the first half, making only 10 out of 30 shots (30 percent). The Tigers shot two out of 13 from deep (15% percent and failed to convert any second-chance points from 10 offensive rebounds. Southwestern U kept abreast with a steadier 40 percent shooting clip from the field. The Cobras had 11 points off 10 UST turnovers, but though they were better at shooting the ball, the guest team had troubles converting from the foul line, making only five out of 12 attempts (42 percent). Arong had eight points to lead his team at the intermission. The Cobras fired quickly early in the third quarter, with five straight points from Holper giving them their biggest lead in three quarters, 32-27. Both teams played at a glacial pace, owing mostly to UST’s control of the tempo. The Tigers mixed up their full-court press defense with a sure-footed half-court offense, which resulted in little or no fast breaks, depending on how SWU’s offense responded to the pressure. As Coach Jarencio benched both Teng and Abdul, the offense was put in junior Kevin Ferrer’s hands. UST assistant coach Senen Duenas instructed Ferrer to “Go hard,” and Ferrer responded, scoring three points off a tough lay-in and a split from the charity stripe. The Tigers regained the lead at 45-44, but fast break baskets by Mohammed and Otida put the Cobras on top after three grueling quarters, 47-45. Thing spiced up in the fourth quarter after the Cobras crept up on the Tigers, giving them a vicious bite courtesy of a triple by Arong. Both teams played in a herky-jerky motion, flubbing their fast break possessions. UST appeared to have put the game away after an and-one basket by UST guard-forward Kim Lo, but subsequent baskets by SWU’s Bautista and Mohammed brought the Cobras back in the game, 57-57. The last quarter was marked by turnovers, missed free throws, and a heart-stopping Arong injury, but the Cobras were able to stave off the Tigers. The Tigers had a chance to tie the game at 64-all had Jeric Teng not missed a free throw. After Ferrer missed the game-winning three, the Cobras’ campaign ended not only with a moral victory but an actual one. The Tigers shot poorly from the field, making only 32 percent of their 66 shot attempts. They also failed to make a good amount of their shots from the foul line, missing 13 of their 30 attempts (57 percent). UST also failed to capitalize on open looks from distance, making only four out of 27 tries (15 percent). That said, the reigning PCCL titlists heavily out-rebounded SWU 44-32, only to struggle to convert 21 offensive rebounds, garnering just two points on second-chance possessions. Two players top-scored with 12 points for UST, namely Abdul and Ferrer, with Abdul grabbing nine rebounds. Teng had another off night, scoring 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Adam Mohammed, a former member of the FEU Tamaraws’ Team B, will be coming to Cebu with the Cobras. Mohammed was at the center of drug bust charges last February that ended up with the athlete spending three days in jail. He was released but is kept under probation. Mohammed is a 6’2” Canadian who has hopped from La Consolacion College, then FEU, then SWU. Meanwhile, former San Sebastian Staglet Jon Macasaet was still in street clothes for the Growling Tigers. The 6’3” bruiser has not played a single game in the offseason for UST so far. Prior to the game, Aljon Mariano has been the main offensive weapon for the Growling Tigers, averaging 24.7 PPG on two games. These numbers are expected to go down as Abdul recovers from a knee injury that has been bothering him. The Growling Tigers play their next game at 2:30pm on Wednesday, May 8, against the 2-3 San Sebastian College–Recoletos Golden Stags, while the Cobras might have played their last game of the tourney. - RAF, GMA News

 

 

The scores:  

SWU – Arong 16, Sanjo 11, Holper 10, Mohammed 9, Bregondo 7, Panerio 4, Bautista 2, Siewe 2, Goloran 2, Otida 1, Escobio 0, Ortega 0, Pajantoy 0  

UST – Ferrer 12, Abdul 12, Teng 10, Mariano 9, Lo 7, Bautista 5, Pe 4, Daquioag 4, Hainga 0, Marata 0, Tan 0

Quarter scores: 12-13, 23-27, 47-45, 64-63