UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas went undefeated in the elimination round of the inaugural Pinoyliga Global Invitational Cup to secure the finals berth in the tournament.
Flexing its might and showing no rust in its first competition this season following a Final Four stint in last season’s UAAP men’s tournament, the Growling Tigers made it look easy by winning all of their four games in the elims.
The Espana-based school opened its campaign with an 88-75 win over guest foreign team Nagoya Gakuin University from Japan as guard Kyle Paranada spearheaded the offensive load with 14 points.
The Tigers followed it up with a 72-64 victory against University of the East behind forward Nic Cabañero and guard Forthsly Padrigao, who both had 14 points.
Then they downed Emilio Aguinaldo College, 87-69, and closed out the campaign with a 98-66 triumph on the US-based Fil-Am Nation select.
UE, which sports a 2-1 record, is playing the visiting Nagoya team as of post time. A victory by the Red Warriors will allow the team of new coach Chris Gavina to face the Tigers in the one-game finale at the Enderun Colleges gym in Taguig City.
However, a win by Nagoya will force a three-way tie for second to fourth places together with the Red Warriors and the Generals. The quotient system will be applied in such scenario to determine the second finals berth.
UST coach Pido Jarencio said he is satisfied with the way the team is starting its buildup for the UAAP Season 88, although he understands the Tigers are still far from getting to where he wants them to be.
“We are doing good so far, considering that Pinoyliga is our first tournament following the UAAP,” said Jarencio, whose team made the Final Four for the first time since 2019 only to lose against eventual champion University of the Philippines.
“There are still things that we want to introduce for the coming season, and tournaments like this will be very important to our team. We’ll continue to work to improve our team,” added Jarencio.
In women’s action, the Lady Tigers also secured a spot in the finals with a similar perfect 4-0 card and will face the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) All-Star team.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
