University of the East and University of Santo Tomas created a logjam for fourth place in the UAAP Season 88 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament after separate victories on Wednesday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The Junior Warriors dispatched winless University of the Philippines Integrated School Fighting Maroons, 94-61, while defending champions Tiger Cubs escaped with a 75-73 win over the Adamson University Baby Falcons.
With the wins by UST and UE, combined with Adamson’s loss, all three teams now share identical 4-6 records. De La Salle-Zobel, currently 4-5, was still set to face Ateneo High School as of publishing.
“We really needed this win para buhay pa yung Final Four na pangarap namin, but I was not happy with the way we played, especially in the fourth quarter. If we want to make it to the Final Four, we need to play better,” said third-year Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Inigo, whose team has won three of its last five games.
“We already lost two games in the second round. Painful games, but we’re still positive. Hindi pa naman kami out of the woods, so right now, we want to keep on improving,” lamented third-year Junior Warriors head coach Karl Santos as UE is looking to make it to the Final Four for the first time under his watch.
Though it was a wire-to-wire victory for the Tiger Cubs—who led by as much as 13 points—they struggled down the stretch.
The trio of Jarl Artango, Mac Jenodia, and Fran Flores rallied the Baby Falcons late, with Flores knocking down a triple with 12 seconds left to cut the lead to 75-73. Adamson managed a defensive stop afterward but could not get a shot off before time expired.
“Again, our problem is the fourth quarter and it showed again in this game,” Inigo said, recalling a similar issue in their 79-70 first-round win over Adamson. “We will talk about it and titignan namin kung ano yung problema.”
Kirk Canete sparked UST early, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the first half while adding six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Nigerian big man Ola Ajani anchored the Tigers with 11 points and 16 rebounds, and Jetlee Melano contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, the Junior Warriors dominated the hapless Fighting Maroons from start to finish, opening a 25-14 lead after the first quarter and extending it to 60-28 by halftime.
UE’s lead reached as high as 34 points, 62-28, with all but two Warriors scoring in the contest.
“We’ve already lost a lot of games, and we should’ve learned from them. So I think we need to minimize those mistakes. Again, I’m not asking for perfection—I’m just asking for consistency, for effort. Of course, sharpness and focus will always be necessary. We need that to win,” said Santos.
Jamal Diaz led UE with 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Eoin Braga added 14 points off the bench.
JM Edoukou, cousin of former UAAP MVP Angelo Kouame, tallied 10 points and five rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For Adamson, four Falcons scored in double figures. Artango led with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals, while Flores added 14 points on three triples.
Keefe Iledan recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Noah Bautista contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
UPIS, still searching for its first win in 10 outings, was led by Jhustin Hallare with 21 points and six rebounds and Bruce Tubongbaua with 17 points and five rebounds.
The Scores:
First Game:
UE 94 – Diaz 20, Braga 14, Edoukou 10, Ferreros 8, Roquid 6, Oraa 6, Panganiban 6, Copada 6, Lorenzo 5, Bual 3, Delos Reyes 3, Abellar 3, Aguas 2, Pascual 2, Orca 0, Timbol 0.
UPIS 61 – Hallare 21, Tubongbanua 17, Lugatiman 11, Labao 2, Poquiz 2, Addatu 0, Ryan 0, Rosete MJ 0, Rosete Ma. 0, Hernandez 0, Cobico 0.
Quarterscores: 25-14, 60-28, 72-46, 94-61.
Second Game:
UST 75 – Canete 11, Ajani 11, Melano 11, Ludovice 9, Esteban 9, Sta. Maria 7, Bohol 6, Canapi 5, Pulongbarit 3, Bandigan 0, Lapastora 0, Bathan 0, Candare 0, Vidanes 0.
ADU 73 – Artango 18, Flores 14, Iledan 11, Bautista 10, Jenodia 9, Garcia 5, Gomez 3, Frogoso 2, Babad 1.
Quarterscores: 29-21, 44-33, 57-46, 75-73.
