Marvin Lee sizzled on a rain-filled Saturday.
Sophomore guard Marvin Lee dropped a personal-high to lift the University of Growling Tigers to a 73-69 win over the skidding National University Bulldogs, Saturday evening at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The win arrests UST’s five game losing streak and sends NU to a three-game slide.
Lee dropped a career-high 22 points in the game. He was able to knock down five triples to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
“Para sa akin surprised din ako. Suwerte lang din siguro at lumabas yung pinaghirapan namin,” Lee said.
“Nag-extra kami sa shooting nung practices namin,” UST head coach Boy Sablan said, as they bounced back from a 29 percent shooting game against the Far Eastern University to shoot 38 percent this game.
Lee’s stellar performance came at a right time for the Growling Tigers. After beating the buzzer to end the third frame, Lee sizzled at the start of the fourth frame. Jon Sheriff then scored four straight buckets to give UST the biggest lead of the game, 67-54, with 5:22 left.
“Sabi ko nga kay Marvin itira mo lang. Mainit na mainit si Marvin this game,” Sablan added about Lee.
Fifth year floor general Sheriff also notched his career-high in the game with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting with four assists and six steals.
Third year guard Rev Diputado and Matt Salem tried to rally NU back, but misses by Alfred Aroga and Salem compounded NU’s problems. Moreover, the Bulldogs could not take advantage of UST’s late-game errors. A jumper by Louie Vigil extended UST’s lead to nine once more with 1:42 left in the game.
Vigil added 20 points for UST. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.
NU committed 25 turnovers in the game that led to 20 points.
“It’s all about team effort and team defense. Yun yung naging problema namin the last five games,” Sablan shared. “Nagtrabaho ang mga bata at gusto nilang manalo. Pinakita lang nila na kaya nila.”
Salem was the high point man for NU with 20 points. Alfred Aroga added a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. However, both of them combined for 10 errors.
The UST Growling Tigers (3-7) will face the De La Salle University Green Archers (9-0) on Sunday, October 23, at 2:00pm. On the other hand, the NU Bulldogs (4-5) will face the same team on Wednesday, October 19. The former will be played at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, while the latter is scheduled to take place at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
UST (73) – Lee 22, Vigil 20, Sheriff 19, Faundo 4, Lao 2, Arana 2, Subido 2, Basibas 2, Afoakwah 0, Huang 0, De Guzman 0, Macasaet 0.
NU (69) – Salem 20, Aroga 13, Diputado R 12, Gallego 8, Sinclair 8, Alejandro 3, Salim 3, Mosqueda 2, Morido 0, Diputado C 0, Rangel 0, Go 0, Pate 0.
Quarterscores: 22-14, 34-34, 54-47, 73-69
