University of Santo Tomas eliminated National University from the Final Four race with an 88-76 victory on Saturday in UAAP season 82 men’s basketball at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Aldin Ayo-mentored Tigers banked on a 12-2 run for a 38-30 halftime lead and maintained their pace throughout for a second straight win and seventh overall in 12 games.
It was a fitting sequel for UST after an 84-78 win over University of the Philippines where Rhenz Abando was benched by Ayo following reports that rival schools are luring him.
And Abando showed he’s happy with UST right now by finishing with nine points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Soulemane Chabi Yo paced the Tigers throughout with 16 points, 14 rebounds and three assists while CJ Cansino found his old form and chipped in with 15 points, five boards, three assists and three steals.
Renzo Subido and Mark Nonoy added 14 and 12 points.
NU absorbed its ninth loss against two wins to kiss its Final Four hopes goodbye despite brothers Dave and Shaun Ildefonso scoring 27 and 15 points.
In women’s play, National University survived University of Santo Tomas 74-70 to remain invincible in 11 games this season.
The win also extended the Lady Bulldogs’ dominance to 91 games with Kelli Hayes and Jack Animam at the frontline.
Hayes fired a league-high 24 points, three rebounds and two assists while Animam chipped in 21 points, 11 boards, two assists and two blocks.
The Lady Bulldogs averted a meltdown after seeing their 72-52 cushion trimmed to only four with 37.5 seconds left, but tightened their defense as Ruby Portillo’s two three-point attempts fell short for the Tigers.
“Sa akin lang, we need to finish the job all the time. Everyone who comes inside the court should do their jobs,” said NU coach Pat Aquino.
Kaye Pingol contributed seven points, five assists and two steals while rookie Camille Clarin added five points for NU, whose triumph also snapped UST’s seven-game winning run.
The Tigresses fell to 9-3 but remained at second.
Meanwhile, La Salle kept its Final Four hopes alive with a 63-47 victory over Far Eastern University.
Kent Pastrana blasted with 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Lady Archers, who improved to 6-5.
La Salle was dominant for most parts of the game, leading by as many as 28 points, 57-29.
None from FEU scored in double figures for the Lady Tamaraws, who dropped to 7-5, with Clare Castro limited to seven points. (Kristel Satumbaga)
The scores:
UST 88 – Chabi Yo 16, Cansino 15, Subido 14, Nonoy 12, Abando 9, Ando 8, Bataller 3, Concepcion 3, Cuajao 3, Paraiso 3, Huang 2, Bordeos 0. NU 76 — D. Ildefonso 27, S. Ildefonso 15, Clemente 10, Gaye 6, Rangel 4, Joson 3, Minerva 3, Oczon 3, Malonzo 2, Mosqueda 2, Gallego 1, Diputado 0, Galinato 0, Mangayao 0, Tibayan 0, Yu 0. Quarters: 17-18, 38-30, 65-56, 88-76.
