Tacky Tacatac continued her hot streak, leading University of Santo Tomas to a dominant 84-57 victory over the University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament, Sunday afternoon at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tacatac’s stellar play helped UST improve to 7-1 with their fourth straight win.
They are also just a game behind the undefeated National University Lady Bulldogs, who sit atop the standings at 8-0.
“Sinabihan lang kami ni coach sa dugout na kailangan namin mag-focus sa defense kasi useless ang score namin kasi pinapa-score din namin ang kalaban, kaya di kami nakakalayo. Buti nung second half na-stop namin yung UP,” said Tacatac, who finished with a game-high 23 points.
UP stayed competitive through the third quarter, trailing by just five, 44-49. However, the Tigresses shifted into another gear, exploding from beyond the arc to break the game wide open.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Karylle Sierba and Kent Pastrana sank three consecutive three-pointers, while Tacky Tacatac added a layup to extend UST’s lead to 14 entering the fourth period, 60-46.
Louna Ozar gave the Fighting Maroons a brief spark to start the fourth, scoring four straight points to pull within 10, 50-60. But that hope was quickly extinguished as UST responded with a 17-2 run, building a commanding 77-52 lead with 5:08 left in the game.
This win mirrored UST’s 84-60 victory over UP in the first round, where a dominant fourth quarter sealed the deal. This time, the Tigresses outscored UP 43-19 in the second half, holding the Fighting Maroons to just 19 points.
“I just told the girls that at the start of the second round, we want to be better, we want to be more consistent, we want to be stronger, and the girls did it. First half was a seesaw battle from UP, sabi ko lang sa dugout, tayo naman sa second half,” said UST head coach Haydee Ong.
UST’s long-range shooting was a key factor, with the team making 12 three-pointers. Tacatac and Sierba combined for an impressive 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Sierba finished with 15 points, all from three-pointers, while Pastrana contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
CJ Maglupay added 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Brigette Santos had a solid all-around game with eight points, seven assists, and six steals.
Defensively, UST forced UP into 32 turnovers, converting those into 38 points.
The Growling Tigresses will aim for another win when they host Ateneo on Saturday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion at 10:00 AM.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The loss dropped UP to 3-5, a game behind fourth-placed Ateneo (4-4). Ozar once again led the Fighting Maroons with 15 points and seven rebounds but committed seven turnovers in a game where UP led only once, at 2-0.
UP faces a tough challenge next, taking on league leaders NU on Sunday, also at the UST gym.
The Scores:
UST 84 – Tacatac 23, Sierba 15, Pastrana 11, Maglupay 10, Santos 8, Ambos 6, Soriano 5, Reliquette 4, Pineda 2, Bron 0, Pescador 0, Danganan 0, Serrano 0, Lopez 0, Amatong 0.
UP 57 – Ozar 15, Pesquera 10, Bariquit 8, Sauz 6, Maw 6, Tapawan 5, Lozada 5, Mendoza 2, Jimenez 0, Barba 0, Vingno 0, Solitario 0, Nolasco 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 41-38, 60-46, 84-57.
