Known to be a sniper from beyond the arc, it was a chaotic start for Tacky Tacatac in the UAAP Season 87 collegiate women’s basketball tournament.
In the University of Santo Tomas’ first five games, the 25-year-old graduating guard accumulated just 27 points on a struggling 9-of-36 shooting from the field.
She converted just seven of her 28 attempts from deep.
Finally, in the Growling Tigresses’ sixth game, Tacatac made her presence felt and returned to her marksman ways.
The pride of Iloilo City came through when UST needed her the most, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter in their game against the University of the Philippines for an 84-60 victory on Wednesday afternoon at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Tacatac fired four of her six three-pointers in the pivotal fourth frame, which saw the Tigresses widen a 59-53 lead to a 24-point win. She finished with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
“Sana tuloy-tuloy na yung pagputok niya,” said UST head coach Haydee Ong, who breathed a sigh of relief as Tacatac finally caught fire.
“Sabi nga diba, a shooter will always be a shooter. It will give us more space in our offense kasi talagang nakatutok yung defenders kay Tacky,” she added.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Tacatac, who is playing in her final year, credited the coaching staff and her teammates for continuously pushing her to shoot despite the drought she experienced at the start of the season.
Prior to the win against UP, Tacatac had only scored two points in their past two games against National University and De La Salle University, failing to make a single field goal in both matches.
“Grateful lang ako sa coaches and sa teammates ko kasi ine-encourage nila ako, mino-motivate nila ako na tumira lang palagi kasi yun talaga yung strength ko,” said Tacatac.
Moving forward, the UAAP Season 85 Mythical team member aims for better performances, boosted by this breakout game.
UST, now holding a 5-1 record, will close the first round against Far Eastern University on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Syempre sobrang laking impact nito sa akin, and these upcoming games talaga for sure yung confidence ko ay mabu-boost pa talaga.”
