WITH finalists University of the Philippines and La Salle forced to shuffle their decks, bronze medalist University of Santo Tomas has emerged as the most intact UAAP outfit heading into the new season.
That doesn't mean, however, that the Growling Tigers have rested on their laurels, welcoming the addition of their championship core from the juniors ranks led by Koji Buenaflor.
READ: UST goes perfect 4-of-4 as Buenaflor leads three other Tiger Cubs in moving up
It's safe to say, then, that a trip to the finals - or even winning it all - isn't farfetched for the black-and-gold.
Forthsky Padrigao, however, would be the first to temper great expectations for UST.
The veteran guard, now sharing co-captain duties with running mate Nic Cabañero, is eyeing to take the next step in his second and final year for the Growling Tigers, of course - but it all begins with reaching the Final Four.
“Final Four pa rin naman yung goal namin as of now, and I think I owe it to the UST community kasi grabe ‘yung suporta nila eh,” he said after their 69-62 win against Adamson at the Playtime Filoil Preseason Cup, where he topped the scoring column with 22 points.
“Malayo pa talaga kami sa gusto namin. Isa pa, hindi pa namin ulit nakakalaban yung mga top teams dito sa Filoil. Ok naman so far yung ginagawa namin sa practices namin and then malaking tulong ‘tong mga sinasalihan naming liga kasi doon kami nagbi-build ng chemistry.”
Follow Forth - and everything will be alright
And thanks to his championship pedigree from when he was still playing for Ateneo back in Season 85, Padrigao knows a thing or two about what it takes to get to the top.
Number one on the 6-foot Zamboangueño's to-do list for España? The right mentality.
As he explained, “For us kasi, kailangan namin sa mental namin na we need to believe na kaya namin. I think that’s the change that we want para ma-take namin yung next step para mas makipag-compete kami sa top teams sa UAAP.”
“Yung championship, goal naman lagi yan eh. But then, one game at a time, one preseason league at a time.”
Indeed, while the Fighting Maroons will no longer have JD Cagulangan, Quentin Millora-Brown, and Francis Lopez and the Green Archers will be missing Kevin Quiambao, they remain standing in UST's way come Season 88.
Luckily for the Growling Tigers, Padrigao is here, not only making plays for himself or his teammates with his signature moves, but also leading by example.
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