OH YES, THEY’RE FOR REAL
Collins Akowe was nine years old the last time the University of Santo Tomas beat La Salle in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament. Pido Jarencio was coaching in the pro ranks and was far from considering a comeback with his alma mater.
With a 10-year losing streak stacked against them, the Growling Tigers picked the perfect victims to mangle and announce that they are the real deals in Season 88, with a 93-84 victory over the Green Archers at Smart Araneta Coliseum good for a share of the early elimination round lead.
Akowe played under the weather but still dominated with 20 points and 19 rebounds, and Forthsky Padrigao finally made his farewell tour debut and turned in brilliant all-around numbers as Santo Tomas won over La Salle for the first time since Oct. 11, 2015, to rise to 2-0 and join National U and Ateneo at the top.
“Actually, coming into this game, I had a fever,” Akowe, who had 29 points and 17 rebounds in an 87-67 ripping of defending champion University of the Philippines last week, said. “I give a shoutout to my coaching staff and teammates because they told me that I just needed to stay aggressive.”
Nic Cabañero had a game-high 27 points to pace the Tigers, whose last championship came in 2006 during Jarencio’s first season, before he took his act to the PBA to call the shots for GlobalPort.
Forthsky Padrigao got his final collegiate season going in style with 12 points, nine assists, three steals and three rebounds. He didn’t know the streak in futility against the Archers, but was obviously glad that it’s over.
“I didn’t even know that it’s been 10 years,” he said. “I’m just happy that we won. Somehow, someway, we made history so I’m happy for us and UST.”
Jacob Cortez paced La Salle with 17 points, with Earl Abadam adding 11.
Meanwhile, National U coach Jeff Napa, after steering his determined Bulldogs to an 84-68 destruction of Far Eastern earlier, was a very interested spectator of the UST-La Salle match.
They will be the third straight league power that the Tigers will face on Wednesday at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. The Bulldogs and the Tigers split their two games last season, though National U failed to make it past the eliminations.
“This win is very crucial for us because we’ll face a heavy opponent next week,” Napa said. “Hopefully, we’re ready for that. We all know the quality of our opponents next week so we need to prepare.
“This is a big boost for us in terms of confidence and we’ll need it for Wednesday.”
Omar John finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, with Jake Figueroa and Jolo Manansala contributing with 13 points each in the victory.
The Tamaraws, meanwhile, dropped to 0-2.
