UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas coach Pido Jarencio has long awaited for this day to come.
And in the Growling Tigers' UAAP Season 87 debut, the boys from Espana indeed lived up to his expectations.
The new look UST side delivered a methodical 70-55 takedown of University of the East on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum for a strong start in the men's basketball tournament.
"Ito yung team na binuo natin from last year pa at ngayon, nakikita na natin yung potential ng team," said Jarencio, who admittedly had a better outlook on this year after last season's two-win finish.
For all of the new faces UST has in its lair, it was Malian center Mo Tounkara who turned heads in his first official game, churning 13 points, four rebounds, and two steals as he gave the Growling Tigers the much-needed inside presence they lacked last year.
Forthsky Padrigao also set the table for his new team with seven assists to make up for his quiet scoring night with five points on 2-of-10 shooting. He also got six boards and guided their fast 18-8 opener to set the tone for the game.
It was such a dominant display for the black and gold that it hardly needed Kyle Paranada to make his presence felt against his old alma mater. He drilled his lone trey of the game in the fourth to make it a 64-43 affair with 4:41 to play.
UST holdovers help, too
But not all the glitter came from the new acquisitions.
Nic Cabanero, the team's top scorer for the past three seasons, was back to his old exploits in nabbing 14 points, including a booming three from near halfcourt to end the first half, along with three rebounds. It was also his floater that extended the UST lead to its biggest at 22, 68-46, with 1:58 to play.
Christian Manaytay also scored 10, Gelo Crisostomo collected nine rebounds, and sophomore Mark Llemit nailed a pair of three-pointers for his nine in a game where the Growling Tigers shot 7-of-31 from distance.
Precious Momowei was stymied with foul trouble in the first half and registered 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Ethan Galang got 11 built from three triples in the Red Warriors' season-opening defeat.
The Scores:
UST 70 - Cabanero 14, Tounkara 13, Manaytay 10, Llemit 9, Padrigao 5, Pangilinan 5, Crisostomo 4, Paranada 4, Robinson 2, Acido 2, Lane 2, Estacio 0, Laure 0, Mahmood 0.
UE 55 - Momowei 12, Galang 11, Fikes 9, Wilson 9, Lingolongo 4, Abate 2, J. Cruz-Dumont 2, Mulingtapang 2, Maga 2, Malaga 2, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Go 0, Spandonis 0, Robles 0.
Quarters: 18-8, 36-19, 50-35, 70-55.
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