For the first time since UAAP Season 74, University of Santo Tomas completed a sweep of the UAAP women’s basketball first round — a feat that Brigette Santos called both historic and motivating as the Growling Tigresses brace for tougher battles ahead in the second phase.
UST capped their 7-0 first-round run with a 75-61 victory over the University of the Philippines on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The win highlighted both their strengths and the areas they still need to improve.
Santos was one of the standouts, erupting for 26 points — her best performance yet in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Basketball Tournament — along with six steals and two assists.
“Syempre masaya. Parang history din eh,” said the fourth-year guard from UST High School.
“Ayun, so hopefully magtuloy-tuloy and siyempre ‘yun nga, sabi ni Coach Haydee na magse-second round [na]. Alam na ng mga kalaban ‘yung ginawa namin nung first round, so we have to adjust and be more competitive and consistent,” she added.
Aside from Santos’ big game, UST also took positives from a perfect performance at the free-throw line, converting all nine attempts. However, the Growling Tigresses struggled from the field, shooting just 31.3-percent on a 30-of-96 clip, including a dismal 16.2-percent from beyond the arc (6-of-37).
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Making matters worse, the team’s defense faltered in the fourth quarter. They allowed 25 points as UP cut what had been a 25-point lead to just 12 on multiple occasions in the final period.
Santos acknowledged that these lapses serve as a reminder that maintaining their level of play will be just as important as winning. For her, consistency on both ends of the floor will determine how far UST can go in the next round.
“Kakasabi lang po ni Coach Haydee na maging consistent po all the time. Kasi po parang complacent kami eh, once nakalamang kami parang magre-relax kami. ‘Yun ang problem namin. [Dapat] maging consistent kami every game,” said Santos.
Head coach Haydee Ong shared the same sentiment, emphasizing the need for the Golden Tigresses to sustain focus and discipline as they enter the tougher stretch of the tournament.
She added that the coaching staff will continue reminding players to stay locked in and to keep raising their standards each game.
“I think it’s all on the mental side nung mga players, because for me and for the coaches naman, we always wanted for them to give their best,” Ong said.
“Yun lang siguro, constantly reminding them na even if you have a bad offense, you’ll never have a bad defense. I think ‘yun ‘yung dapat na mindset naming lahat na medyo malas kami today, hopefully ‘yung defense namin will hold para sa team namin.”
