Cabañero, Padrigao bullish on Tigers’ future
Until the last 48 seconds of the match, Nic Cabañero and Forthsky Padrigao stood on the precipice of a better ending to their stay with the University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
But then the heartbreak came. A triple from Terrence Fortea. Two stops by the University of the Philippines.
In the end, an 82-81 defeat in the Season 88 Final Four took Cabañero and Padrigao from chasing a dream ending to searching for something to leave behind as legacies.
For Cabañero, the answer was easy to find. After playing all five years for the Tigers and going through a rebuilding phase and a contender status, he hopes he managed to show the value of loyalty.
“It’s not just [loyalty] to UST alone,” he said after finishing with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists against UP. “I hope it’s something all eight UAAP schools uphold. Just love your school. I believe there’s always something for everything you go through.”
Despite the temptations to bolt a 3-11 (win-loss) program during his rookie year and in the struggling seasons that followed, Cabañero never lost faith and stayed with the Tigers. He saw light in back-to-back postseason appearances, but each time fell short of delivering the ultimate prize.
“It’s sad that I couldn’t bring a championship to the UST community,” he said. “But I believe our holdovers and my teammates can make it happen soon.”
