With Padrigao leading way, Tigers seek return to mighty status
University of Santo Tomas (UST) has had a lot of different coaches in almost a decade together with a multitude of rosters and player combinations.
None of those were able to figure out Ateneo under coach Tab Baldwin.
On Wednesday night, coach Pido Jarencio, who is now in his second year back in the Tiger’s lair, finally snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Eagles streak with a 74-64 triumph in their UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball clash.
One of the weapons that worked? None other than Baldwin’s former cog from the Blue Eagles’ championship run back in Season 85, Forthsky Padrigao.
Padrigao suited up against his former team for the first time and immediately made an impact. He is now all-in with his new team, which has zoomed to a 2-0 (win-loss) start in the tournament.
“I was happy to hear [Ateneo’s hymn] because the last time I sang it, we won a championship. It brings back memories,” Padrigao said. “But then, I have to move forward already.”
“I’m with my new team, with my UST; they welcomed me with open arms and [I am] just gonna focus on doing my thing here,” he added after holding together the Growling Tigers and orchestrating their offense.
One thing Santo Tomas is fighting to avoid is getting lost in the success it is experiencing right now. So the challenge for this crew of Tigers is to just continue working on themselves and prove that they are an improved bunch.
‘Bigger fights’
The season is just starting, after all, and UST’s goal of reaching one of the Final Four slots still has to pass through a lot of tests.
“There are familiar faces but like what I’ve said in interviews before, we just treated this game like how we will be approaching the next games,” Padrigao said. “We are just focused on our preparations and winning games.”
“We are still far away from our goal. This is just the first two games and there is still a second round,” Jarencio said. “At least we are getting wins [to get confidence] when the second round comes where there will be much bigger fights.”
