UST claws UE sans Teng

By Anthony Divinagracia Posted Jul 14th 2013

No Jeric Teng? No problem for Pido and company.

University of Santo Tomas (UST) bucked the absence of its main man Teng as the Tigers rode on the mighty shoulders of Karim Abdul and Aljon Mariano to hack out a morale-boosting 88-77 victory Saturday against University of the East (UE) in the 76^th UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Abdul and Mariano finally broke out of their personal slumps, registering double-double outputs each for the Tigers, who exploited the Charles Mammie-less UE frontline no end to grab solo second place with a 3-1 ledger.

The 6’6 Cameroonian banger knocked in 25 points, including 14 in the first half to keep the Tigers afloat versus the unrelenting Warriors. He also collared 13 rebounds on top of four assists and two steals while Mariano chipped in 24 markers and 11 boards.

Combo guard Ed Daquioag again turned in a virtuoso performance, highlighted by a career-high of 19 points, six dimes, and five caroms in 26 minutes of play.

“Yung mga bata gustong manalo for Jeric (Teng). Naging positive sila. I give credit sa mga bata. Almost lahat sila nag-step up,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio, who made special mention of Abdul, Mariano, Daquioag, Kevin Ferrer, and Clark Bautista.

“Importante hindi lang yung leadership, kundi yung desire to win. Kahit anong adversity lalabas yung composure bastang gustong manalo.”

Indeed, the Tigers showed their vaunted desire and composure against the hard-fighting Warriors who brandished their patented dribble-dish offense to offset Mammie’s absence underneath.

UE clustered three straight triples in a 13-5 assault to erase a 13-20 deficit and wrest the upperhand, 23-21, midway into the third.

Yet the Tigers quickly responded behind Abdul and Daquioag to knot the count, 34-all, at the half.

Both squads engaged in a nip-and-tuck affair halfway through the third canto before Abdul and Mariano presided over a fiery 15-6 attack to help UST retake a 63-56 advantage going into the payoff period.

Roi Sumang opened the fourth with an eight-point swing anchored on back-to-back triples to push UE within, 66-67. But the Warriors fell into penalty midway into the fourth and UST seized the initiative, unleashing a decisive 10-0 run to claim an 84-74 lead for good.

Sumang led UE with 21 points, while rookie Ralf Olivares and Chris Javier added 15 and 10, respectively. The Warriors dropped to 1-3.

The scores:

UST 88 – Abdul 25, Mariano 24, Daquioag 19, Ferrer 9, Bautista 8, So 3, Tan 0, Pe 0, Marata 0, Lo 0.

UE 77 – Sumang 21, Olivares 12, Javier 10, Casajeros 9, Santos 6, Sumido 3, Jumao-as 3, Hernandez 3, Alberto 3, Noble 0, Flores 0, Galanza 0.

Quarter scores: 16-10, 34-34, 63-56, 88-77.