University of Santo Tomas took solo lead in the UAAP Season 88 19-and-under 3×3 basketball tournament after pulling off two thrilling wins on Tuesday at Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City.
The Tiger Cubs ended the 28-game winning streak of defending champions FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws with a 21-18 victory to open their day, before following it up with a 21-16 win over the DLSZ Junior Archers.
With those results, UST remained the only unbeaten team in the tournament, which is supported by Wilson Philippines and Ayala Malls and sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Kirk Cañete led the charge against FEU-D, going a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, finishing with 10 points, while Joaqui Ludovice added seven.
Ludovice then took over against DLSZ, finishing with nine points, while Jettlee Melano and Cañete chipped in five points apiece.
“Happy po kami as a team kasi nagtulong-tulungan kami. Lahat ito, pinaghandaan kami,” said Ludovice, the 5-foot-9 guard who is in Grade 11 but will age out of the league’s high school competitions in UAAP Season 89. “Pero hindi pa kami ganoon kasaya kasi hindi pa namin naabot yung pinaka goal namin, which is yung championship. Happy kami pero hindi pa kami kuntento.”
For Ludovice, winning the 3×3 tournament would be a perfect cap to their high school run after finishing sixth in the 5-on-5 competition last March.
“Sineseryoso namin ito kasi ito yung comeback namin from 5-on-5. UAAP pa rin ito at parehong championship pa rin ang pinaglalabanan dito,” said Joaqui, the younger brother of former San Beda Red Lion Yvan Ludovice.
The middle of the standings remains tightly packed, with FEU-D, National University Nazareth School, and De La Salle-Zobel all holding 2-1 records.
Cabs Cabonilas powered FEU-D with 11 points and 11 rebounds in a 21-13 bounce-back win over Ateneo.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, University of the Philippines Integrated School leaned on the duo of Jhustin Hallare and Bruce Tubongbanua, who both scored nine points, in a 22-20 stunner over NUNS. However, NUNS responded later in the day with a 21-11 rout of Adamson.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Niño Ferrer then scored a deuce in overtime to lift DLSZ to a 20-18 win over Ateneo, helping the Junior Archers rebound.
Adamson, UE, and UPIS are all at 1-2, while Ateneo remains winless in the division.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the 16-and-under division, defending champion Ateneo—coming off a 21-17 win over UE earlier in the day—saw its 10-game winning streak snapped after FEU-Diliman pulled off a 21-15 victory.
Prince Cariño dominated the match, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Baby Tamaraws also cruised in their first game of the day, defeating Adamson 21-13 behind nine points from Dwayne Enriquez and seven from Cariño to move to 3-0 in the division.
Ateneo, UST, and DLSZ are all at 2-1, while Adamson, UE, and NUNS sit at 1-2. UPIS remains winless.
The Junior Tiger Cubs also went 2-0 for the day, scoring wins over NUNS (21-16) and UPIS (21-13).
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Miguel Jubilado and CJ Tabbuga scored eight and seven points, respectively, against the Bullpups, while Tabbuga added nine points and Dave Regala contributed seven points and nine rebounds against the Fighting Maroons.
DLSZ, which started the day with a 21-20 escape over UPIS, suffered a 19-15 upset loss to NUNS—the Bullpups’ first win of the tournament.
Junior Archers head trainer Joshua Webb said his squad needs to experience both highs and lows to grow in the competition.
“Just a few tweaks and adjustments here and there, but that’s going to come. 3×3 is a different animal from 5-on-5, and it’s our job to teach them that,” said Webb, a DLSZ legend and former Philippine-ranked 3×3 player during his stint with Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The Junior Warriors finally broke through with their first win, edging the Adamson Baby Falcons 19-17 in overtime as James Mesa nailed the game-winning deuce.
The tournament will resume on Thursday, with the high school girls’ competition also set to begin on the same day.
