Since dropping their season opener to National University Nazareth School, University of Santo Tomas has been on a dominant run, closing the first round of the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament with six consecutive wins.
They capped off their strong finish with an 80-72 victory over FEU-Diliman, breaking a two-way tie for second place. Over their last six games, the Tiger Cubs have won with an impressive average margin of 18.6 points per contest.
While UST head coach Manu Inigo achieved one of his key goals—finishing in the top two of the standings—he believes the team still has plenty to improve on heading into the second round.
“Syempre, to be honest, ‘yon yung goal namin ‘eh na mapunta sa top two sa first round. Pero back to square one kami sa second round, one game at a time,” Inigo told Tiebreaker Times.
“We’ll try to maintain and hopefully makuha pa yung first seed, mas maganda ‘yon. Tutuloy lang namin kung ano sinimulan na namin.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
A major factor in UST’s first-round success was Inigo’s ability to find the right mix of players for his system—a blend of Season 85 holdovers from former head coach Jinino Manansala, key recruits from San Beda University-Rizal, highly touted provincial standouts, and a dominant foreign student-athlete who has played a crucial role in their rise.
With Gilas Youth guard Wacky Ludovice, team captain Koji Buenaflor, and Senegalese forward Racine Kane leading the charge, UST boasts a deep lineup featuring Charles Bucsit, Kirk Cañete, Charles Esteban, Liam Acido, and Duke Solon—arguably the deepest roster in the entire UAAP boys’ basketball field.
“Kahit sino naman na team, kahit anong lakas mo, kung hindi magkakasundo-sundo ‘yan, mahirap manalo. Ang maganda lang, lahat sila talagang nagsa-sacrifice sa sarili nila at sumusunod lang sila sa sistema namin. Anyone can be the best player. Malaking factor yung depth kasi kapag off yung main players namin, nag-step up yung off-the-bench guys namin,” said Inigo, who previously coached the San Beda Red Cubs.
Graduating forward and Gilas Youth standout Carl Manding echoed Inigo’s sentiments, praising the team’s ability to rely on all 16 players to step up in key moments.
Manding embodied that mentality on Sunday afternoon, coming off the bench to deliver a season-high 17 points, nine rebounds, and three steals—just when Ludovice (one point, 0-of-6 shooting), Bucsit (seven points, 2-of-10), and Esteban (two points, 1-of-6) struggled to find their rhythm.
“Sa game plan naman nila coach ‘yon at sa tiwala ng coaches at ng teammates ko. Nagpapasalamat lang ako sa kanila pati na rin sa family ko dahil alam nila na kaya ko and binibigay talaga sa akin yung kumpiyansa na kailangan ko. Ganyan lang kadeep yung roster namin na kahit sino kaya mag-step up at kahit sino kaya mag-contribute sa panalo,” Manding concluded.
