In the past three seasons, it has become customary for the UAAP to hold basketball games at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion whenever traditional venues like the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the SM Mall of Asia Arena are fully booked on designated playing dates.
From Season 85 to Season 86, spanning 2022 to 2023, most women’s division games and some men’s matches were held at the UST arena.
However, it was unprecedented for all three UST basketball teams – from juniors to women’s to men’s – to share the QPav on the same playing date.
Enter Season 87, where the Tiger Cubs, the Growling Tigresses, and the Growling Tigers enjoyed a much-needed morale boost from a rare UAAP home-court advantage on Saturday, October 19.
While it appeared that the pressure of playing on their home turf affected them initially, Kent Pastrana willed the Growling Tigresses to a hard-fought 77-73 victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, marking their eighth win in nine outings.
Pastrana, the UAAP Season 86 Athlete of the Year, struggled to find her rhythm during the first three quarters but came alive in the fourth.
She ignited a personal 7-2 run, extending UST’s lead to 10 points, 69-59, with 4:09 left in the contest.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“Wala naman pressure. Siguro masyadong off lang talaga kasi hindi naman swerte araw-araw. Hindi naman palagi na lahat ng tira mo papasok, may off day talaga,” Pastrana shared.
“So ang ginawa ko na lang ay bumawi ako sa depensa and sa ibang ways, sa hustle, sa rebounds. Kaya ayon, nandoon pa rin ako sa loob, nakakatulong pa rin. So far, okay naman yung contribution ko.”
For their junior counterparts, the Tiger Cubs displayed no signs of pressure as they dominated the UPIS Fighting Maroons with a 41-point rout, 90-59, to kick off the five-game slate at the QPav.
Coming off a narrow win over FEU-D last Wednesday, budding UST star Jhon Canapi entered the QPav – where they always practice – with a winning mentality.
And that mentality carried him towards scoring 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting, along with six rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“Masaya kasi home court namin ‘eh. Pag home court namin, kailangan hindi kami matalo ‘eh. Sobrang ganda ng simula namin kaya nalamangan agad namin yung UP, nadepensahan namin agad,” said the two-time Junior MPBL MVP.
However, UST’s hopes of sweeping all their games on home turf were dashed in the men’s division.
The Growling Tigers continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, failing to protect their home court in a 64-67 loss to the Ateneo Blue Eagles – thus ending UST’s three-game slate at the QPav.
For UST team captain Nic Cabañero – who contributed 18 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal – the loss weighed heavily on him.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“Ako, I take the blame for the loss bilang isa sa mga seniors sa team,” said the 21-year-old Cebuano.
“Sana magka-chance pa kami makabawi sa community. Alam ko ‘to na yung last game dito sa QPav pero babawi kami. Hindi pa naman huli e.”
