Fueled by the heartbreak of last year’s Finals defeat to National University, the co-captains of University of Santo Tomas are embracing their leadership roles with the shared goal of capping their collegiate careers by bringing a championship back to España in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Eager to do whatever it takes to reclaim the crown they lost in Season 87, Kent Pastrana and Eka Soriano are both aiming to go beyond their offensive capabilities.
They have also stepped up as leaders for a youthful Growling Tigresses side that features Season 87 girls’ basketball MVP Barby Dajao, Nigerian center Oma Onianwa, and the sophomore guard duo of Karylle Sierba and Gin Relliquette.
Their leadership was on full display as UST solved the NU puzzle, earning a 76-62 victory for their second win in Season 88 on Wednesday evening at their home court, the Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Behind their steady presence, the Growling Tigresses not only celebrated a statement win against the defending champions but also snapped a long drought — securing their first elimination-round triumph over NU after going winless in 14 straight preliminary meetings dating back to Season 79 in 2016.
“Palagi naman namin pinag-uusapan ni Eka na kung ano talaga yung role namin. Every game, mag-eenjoy lang kami at every game, papasok kami kapag kailangan,” Pastrana shared, who finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block.
“Magse-step up kami sa bagay na kailangan kami ng mga bata — especially last year na kami ni Eka. Palagi namin sinasabi na huwag na tayo mag-tira sa sarili natin,” she added.
“Next year kasi na kami makakabalik sa UAAP. Hopefully this season will be memorable for us ni Eka. We’ll give our best and 101-percent effort palagi. We’ll always buy in sa sistema. Sabi nga nila coach, hindi pwede yung may natitira — ibigay niyo lahat at ibuhos niyo lahat kasi may magandang result kapag binigay niyo lahat ng effort niyo.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For her part, Soriano remains unfazed by her limited production in the past two seasons. Instead, she has locked in on the new responsibility entrusted to her by head coach Haydee Ong in their quest to clinch UST’s 13th UAAP women’s basketball crown.
Now fully healed from a nagging back injury, the Season 85 MVP is eager to once again unleash the full scope of her offensive and playmaking prowess — numbers that once saw her average 14.36 points, 6.29 rebounds, and league-bests of 7.14 assists and 3.71 steals per game during her MVP season.
Yet for Soriano, what matters most is her willingness to lay it all on the line — whether as a leader or as a scorer — to further fuel the Growling Tigresses’ championship aspirations in her final UAAP campaign with UST.
“Pinaghuhugutan ko lang ay last [playing] year na ako. Lagi ko lang iniisip kapag pinapasok ako nila coach na to give my all. Wala na kasi akong babalikan next year ‘eh, so kailangan bigay ko ang lahat. Pero dapat yung sistema ng coaches, hindi pa rin mawala ‘yon,” the guard out of Tondo, Manila shared.
“Siguro ngayon kasi alam ko na yung role ko. Komportable na ako sa galaw ko kasi fully okay na ako, hindi na ako may fear sa injury. Binigyan lang ako ng role ni coach at ginagawa ko lang ‘yon.”
