University of Santo Tomas coach Pido Jarencio was in a serious mood after the Growling Tigers lost their third straight game in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament—a 91-71 drubbing at the hands of De La Salle University.
The result extended the agony for the Growling Tigers’ faithful. The last time UST won was on October 1, 2022, against Adamson, 69-60. Its last victory against La Salle came eight years ago, in an 81-79 win on October 11, 2015.
While Jarencio has a reputation for joking around, he was straightforward when asked what UST’s next opponent, National University this Wednesday, meant to him. The game will mark the first time he faces coach Jeff Napa, who is in the renowned ‘Superfriends’ stable alongside San Miguel Corporation Sports Director Alfrancis Chua.
“Wala naman. Trabaho lang. Trabaho lang,” he said.
When the former national team standout returned to the UST post last January, he probably did not anticipate things going this poorly upon his return.
The optimism that surrounded his return, with the addition of figures like Chua and Bonnie Tan, who were instrumental in leading Letran College to its first three-peat in the NCAA, has now vanished.
The UAAP is a results-oriented league, and losing pains Jarencio, especially since it’s his beloved alma mater, UST, that is experiencing this poor run.
“We have to move on. We have to move on. It was a bad game, right? Both offensively and defensively, we hesitated,” he said.
“I’m not sourgraping because we need Adama (Faye) in our team. Without Adama, it’s challenging because we had Adama for almost eight months, and then he got injured as the tournament approached. It was a significant adjustment for the team because he’s our dominating center.”
