University of Santo Tomas clinched the third ticket in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Basketball Final Four after clobbering also-ran University of the East with a wire-to-wire 103-54 rout Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Growling Tigresses, who hiked their record to 8-3, have made the post-season for the fifth straight time.
UST remains in pursuit of National University (10-1) and University of the Philippines (9-2) for a twice-to-beat incentive in the semifinals.
Ateneo de Manila University (7-4) and De La Salle University (4-7) will fight for the last Final Four berth.
“Hindi naman namin tinitignan yung score actually. We just wanted to execute kung ano yung mga tinuturo sa bata during practice, and I’m happy na nagawa ng mga bata yun,” said UST head coach Haydee Ong after the league’s most lopsided win this season.
“If it’s a bounce-back game, I think ito yung parang statement ng mga players ko sa tough loss nila against NU,” she added, citing their 77-76 overtime loss against the defending champion last weekend.
The Growling Tigresses scored the game’s first nine points before stretching their lead to 14 at the end of the first period, 26-12. They even expanded it more at the half, 50-28.
UST continued its barrage in the third quarter, where they established an insurmountable 75-42 lead heading into the fourth.
Kent Pastrana had 17 points, Brigette Santos scored 16, and Rachelle Ambos got 14. Senior guard Nikki Villasin also delivered 11 points.
Meanwhile, Tantoy Ferrer got 10 points and eight rebounds despite only playing in the first half.
All 14 players fielded by Ong scored at least a point.
This was the 34th straight defeat of the struggling Lady Warriors, dropping to 0-11 this season.
Kat Ruiz made 16 points and four rebounds in the losing cause while Minslie Paule backed her up with 10 points.
UST’s next game will be against Adamson University on Sunday, while UE will collide with league-leader NU a day before. Both will be at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
UST 103 – Pastrana 17, Santos 16, Ambos 14, Villasin 11, Ferrer 10, Bron 7, Dionisio 6, Danganan 6, Tacatac 4, Soriano 3, Maglupay 3, Serrano 3, Ly 2, Amatong 1.
UE 54 – Ruiz 16, Paule 10, Pedregosa 8, Anastacio 4, Lorena 4, Burgos 4, Dela Rosa 4, Kone 2, Lumibao 2, Delig 0, Ronquillo 0, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 26-12, 50-28, 75-42, 103-54.
