University of Santo Tomas ended a long 24-year wait for a UAAP Boys’ Basketball title with a dramatic 83-77 overtime victory over National University-Nazareth School in the decisive Game 3 on Thursday afternoon at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
All they carried on their journey back to the summit was the heartbreak of back-to-back fourth-place finishes in Seasons 85 and 86.
“Three years namin pinagtrabahuhan itong championship na ito. Nakuha na namin yung experiences at yung sakit mula sa first two seasons, kaya ‘yon yung naging motivation para maibalik yung korona sa España,” expressed graduating forward Charles Bucsit, who capped his UAAP high school career with four points, seven rebounds, two steals, one block, and one assist.
Before finally breaking through in Season 87, the trio of Carl Manding, Charles Bucsit, and Koji Buenaflor first endured the pain of falling short in the Final Four against Adamson University in the previous two seasons.
The Tiger Cubs suffered heartbreak in Season 85, losing a tight 62-55 battle to the Baby Falcons. The following year, they were once again eliminated by the same team in an 80-66 postseason defeat.
“Masaya sa feeling since matagal na namin pinangarap na maging champion. Yung last two seasons, fourth place lang kami, and then nung dumating sila coach Manu, sa aming mga seniors, sinabi namin sa isa’t isa na dapat mag-step up kami, and ito ang naging bunga,” said graduating guard Carl Manding, who contributed 10 points, three rebounds, and one assist.
UST had a dominant campaign in Season 87, finishing the eliminations as the second-ranked team with a 12-2 record before taking down Far Eastern University-Diliman in the Final Four to secure a Finals berth.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
More significantly, the victory delivered UST’s first UAAP Boys’ Basketball crown since Season 64 in 2001, when Jun Cortez and current Growling Tigers assistant coach X steered the team to the championship.
They also handed NUNS three losses — the only defeats the Bullpups suffered throughout the season.
“Sobrang thankful ako kay coach Manu sa pagdating niya sa buhay ko at sa UST. Isa talaga siyang blessing sa buhay ko at hindi ko alam kung paano siya pasasalamatan. Simula first year ko dito, hindi ko alam kung ano yung role ko, and then unti-unti, pinaintindi sa akin ni coach,” said team captain Koji Buenaflor, who delivered 12 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists in the title-clinching win.
After struggling in Game 2, Finals MVP Racine Kane delivered a monster performance in Game 3, leading UST with 28 points, 17 rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and one assist.
“After Game 2, coach Manu talked to me, saying that we need to finish it in Game 3. This is our last year, that’s why we really did everything today, both for UST and coach Manu,” shared the Senegalese forward.
With their mission accomplished, the question now arises — what’s next for these young champions?
For now, their focus remains on completing two more tournaments with the Tiger Cubs: the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) National Finals from March 31 to April 6 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, followed by the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ 3×3 Basketball Tournament in May.
UST enters the NBTC as the third-seeded squad in the 32-team bracket, alongside fourth-ranked NUNS. Last year’s Division 1 champion Fil-Am Nation Select and Division 2 titleholder Top Flight Canada secured the first and second seeds, respectively.
“Same lang din with them, champions muna kami, ‘yon muna iisipin namin. Celebrate kami and spend time together lalo’t last time namin dito kasama sila coach. After ng NBTC at ng UAAP 3×3, tsaka na namin iisipin,” said Buenaflor, a native of Bulacan.
“Same lang na iisipin muna namin NBTC at e-enjoyin namin ang pagiging champion namin. After nitong lahat, tsaka ko iisipin. Hopefully, I make the right choice,” added Bucsit, a pride of Santa Rosa, Laguna.
