HEAVY is the head that holds the crown, and University of Santo Tomas found it the hard way how difficult it is to repeat as champions.
But with the Growling Tigresses back to being one of the hunters, coach Haydee Ong is firm on her belief that her team is ready to scale the mountain and reach the pinnacle anew.
“Gusto natin ma-reclaim yung crown kasi UST ang host and the team is intact,” she said ahead of the UAAP Season 88 women’s basketball tournament.
Ong has every reason to amplify that belief.
Kent Pastrana is coming off a morale-boosting Gilas Pilipinas Women call-up in the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, cementing her place as one of the top amateurs in the country, while Season 85 MVP Eka Soriano is back in the pink of health, promising a better showing in this redemption tour.
“Kent is more confident ngayon for her last playing year and the same goes for Eka,” the decorated mentor said. “More than the experience, yung motivation ng dalawa na mabalik yung championship sa Espana, ramdam na ramdam ng team.”
Those two alone should be enough to steer the Tigresses back to the top.
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But Ong is leaving no stones unturned, bringing in Nigerian center Oma Onianwa to shore up their weakness in the middle.
“Oma gives us something which we lacked in the past two seasons. She’s mobile and can play both inside and outside. Medyo hindi pa ganoon kasanay sa physicality, but she’s gonna be a big factor for us,” she said, even comparing Onianwa to a former MVP she handled.
“Think of it na parang meron kaming second coming ni Grace Irebu.”
Ong also brought in UAAP Girls' Basketball MVP Barby Dajao and Fil-Australian forward Erinn McAlary to add to the youth revolution in Espana.
With only Tacky Tacatac graduating from last year’s core, the intact Tigresses are hungry for glory and are raring to get back their lost throne.
But Ong said that as much as pundits brand them as the odds-on favorites, she tempered expectations knowing how competitive the field is going to be.
“We cannot say na kayang-kaya natin kasi every team is nag-improve. And we’re not being complacent pa rin even if we have an intact lineup,” she said. “So we just try to enjoy every game. Nandyan lagi yung pressure and this year is no different, so we just have to handle the pressure very well.”
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