Nic Cabañero and Migs Pangilinan have taken it upon themselves to lift University of Santo Tomas out of its long misery in UAAP Men’s Basketball.
After a triumphant start in Bal David’s short-lived coaching era at UST, the Growling Tigers lost their next 13 games in Season 85, finishing at the bottom of the standings with a 1-13 record.
Pido Jarencio’s return to UST also saw his squad fall to the University of the East on opening day, 80-70, before losing a tough one to Adamson University in overtime on Wednesday, 79-76.
The losing streak of the not-so-growling Tigers now stands at 15 games, with their last win coming against Adamson on October 1, 2022.
Cabañero and Pangilinan had their moments against the Soaring Falcons, but UST still couldn’t overcome the hurdle as Cedrick Manzano, Matthew Montebon, and Joem Sabandal teamed up for the win at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“As the seniors in the team, kailangan namin mag step up talaga. Kami yung dapat mag take charge sa team namin kami nila Migs, ni Paul Manalang, Christian Manaytay kailangan kami talaga yung mag step up,” said Cabañero, the third year winger out of San Beda-Taytay.
Adamson soared to a 9-2 start in the extra period for a commanding 77-70 lead with just 1:10 left in the match, and then came Cabañero’s moment.
The 6-foot-2 hulking guard-forward managed to make two difficult shots from beyond the arc—an off-the-bank one and a pull-up—giving UST newfound life, trailing by just one with 29.8 seconds left, 76-77.
It was also Cabañero who sent the game to OT on a drive to the basket for a layup with 2.2 seconds remaining in the fourth.
Pangilinan, on the other hand, made his significant contribution in the fourth quarter as he drained back-to-back triples in the last three minutes.
The sweet-shooting Pangilinan had a game-high 18 points to go with five rebounds, while Cabañero finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
But all those numbers no longer mattered to Pangilinan as he set his sights on De La Salle University, which they will face on Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Yung akin po kasi, tapos na po ito. Kumbaga yung ginawa ko ngayon, parang dinidisregard ko kasi yun nga hindi namin nakuha yung panalo so focus na lang kami sa next game, bawi na lang,” said Pangilinan, a fourth-year forward.
