University of Santo Tomas stormed into the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Final Four with a massive second-half surge, toppling top-seeded National University, 80-71, on Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Growling Tigers improved to 8-5, securing solo third place. This marks their second consecutive semifinals appearance after missing out for the past three seasons.
UST can clinch the third seed and set up a Final Four clash with twice-to-beat University of the Philippines if it defeats Far Eastern University on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We got that nice record in the first round then second round three losses agad. Four straight losses. Marami nang nagdududa, papasok ba itong UST na ito? Ano ba itong UST na ito joke lang ba ito? No. We’re here. Parating na kami,” said UST head coach Pido Jarencio, attending the postgame press conference for the first time this season.
With the Bulldogs leading 53-48 late in the third quarter, the Growling Tigers flipped the game on its head with an 18-2 run, taking a 66-55 lead with 8:24 remaining.
Gelo Crisostomo scored seven points in that decisive stretch, while Mark Llemit, Amiel Acido, and Kyle Paranada also contributed in the semifinals-clinching rally.
“Masasabi kong pinaghirapan talaga namin ito sa practice, si Coach Pido sobrang focused sa amin kasi ‘yun nga ‘yung NU sila ang number one eh. Kami, gusto namin manalo kasi sila ang number one gigil kami. Importante itong laro na ito sa amin kasi kapag manalo kami, pasok kami sa Final Four,” said Llemit, who finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
Crisostomo led a balanced Growling Tigers offense with 13 points and five rebounds, while Collins Akowe added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Acido shot 3-of-4 from deep to tally 11 points, and Paranada contributed nine points, five assists, and four rebounds.
Nic Cabañero added nine points and six boards, while Forthsky Padrigao and Koji Buenaflor chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.
For NU, the loss did little to affect their top-seed status, though it snapped their five-game winning streak and concluded the elimination round with an 11-3 record.
Omar John led the Bulldogs with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while seldom-used Nath Tulabut contributed 10 points.
Head coach Jeff Napa spread minutes across 14 players in the defeat.
The Scores:
UST (80) – Crisostomo 13, Akowe 11, Llemit 11, Acido 11, Paranada 9, Cabañero 9, Padrigao 8, Buenaflor 7, Estacio 1, Laure 0, Calum 0.
NU (71) – John 12, Tulabut 10, Garcia 9, Manansala 8, Palacielo 6, Padrones 6, Dela Cruz 4, Parks 3, Figueroa 3, Jumamoy 3, Enriquez 3, Solomon 0, Reyes 0.
Quarterscores: 16-19, 37-38, 58-53, 80-71.
