BY Gwen Bergado
IT took University of Santo Tomas 24 years to have rains finally put an end to its title drought in UAAP boys' basketball.
And it's no coincidence that it all happened in Racine Kane's first and only year as a Tiger Cub.
Putting up per game counts of 19.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.0 steals, and 1.6 assists through the three-game title series, the Senegalese big most definitely played his part in a much-welcome basketball crown for the black-and-gold.
"Before we started UAAP, coach Manu [Iñigo] talked to me and said that after 24 years, UST has not won any championships and we need to do it this year," the 19-year-old expressed after their Game 3 victory vs. NU-Nazareth School.
READ: Tiger Cubs bring home basketball championship to Espana
"In our last year, me, Koji [Buenaflor], Carl Manding, and [Charles] Bucsit, that's what we wanted to do," he furthered.
That, they did, and more, as Kane and Co. put the Bullpups under their spell throughout the tournament.
UST boasts of a 3-2 record against NUNS, which is a perfect 13-0 combined against the other six squads.
It was also the Tiger Cubs who dealt the Bullpups their first defeat of the season at the end of eliminations, ensuring a traditional Final Four instead of stepladder playoffs.
Then in the best-of-three finals, UST dropped Game 1 before ringing off back-to-back wins en route to its first championship since 2001.
"This one is for the UST community," expressed the 6-foot-6 big, who was rightfully hailed as Finals MVP.
FSA face-off
Alongside España, Kane was, without a doubt, fired up about his face-offs with Best Foreign Student-Athlete Collins Akowe.
Still, Iñigo found a way to add fuel to his young big's already-burning fire, claiming that, actually, Kane is better than Akowe.
For his part, the newly-minted Finals MVP can just rest easy that he claimed the trophy that mattered most at the end of it all.
"He (Iñigo) needed to motivate me about the UAAP,” he said about his mentor's statements.
Now he has made his case, Kane turns his attention to finishing high school before even thinking about what's next for him.
After all, the Tiger Cubs should savor the championship that has eluded them for two and a half decades.
As he put it, “For now, I want to enjoy this championship. I want to enjoy this first.”
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