Ong slowly builds UST toward title defense
Slowly, University of Santo Tomas is building up to its title defense.
“Every program [that is built], it’s not [done] overnight,” said Tigresses coach Haydee Ong.
On Sunday, Ong added another day to that process, using a 70-54 rout of Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament to further sharpen a roster that has been once exposed by a hurting former champion aching for revenge.
“Everyone who had to step up, stepped up,” Ong said. “And we gave time to our bench for them [to gain exposure].”
The Tigresses made their sixth straight Final Four appearance with their ninth win in 10 games, joining unbeaten leader and last year’s runnerup National University (9-0, win-loss). The Lady Bulldogs, who had won seven straight crowns before getting stopped by the Tigresses last season, could book an outright finals berth and force a stepladder semifinal format if they sweep the elimination round.
NU, which already owns a victory over UST this season, would love to have that outright berth, if only to gain payback after its Finals defeat to the Tigresses last year.
And UST looks to be the only squad capable of halting the NU juggernaut, and that chance will come on Wednesday when the Season 86 finalists collide again.
But worrying over the Lady Bulldogs is not Ong’s concern right now.
She’s busy filling out puzzles.
“You have to make the puzzle right [using] right … players, right recruitment,” Ong said. “The UST program is more on player development rather than recruitment program.”
“We wanted [it to be so that] if we have a player that we recruit, it’s not always the best players, but always the right one for our program.”
Balanced scoring
So far that part of the puzzle has been completed.
The Tigresses have found the pieces to match the best teams in the league, talent for talent.
UST drew balanced scoring from its bench on the way to a lead of as many as 26, whcih gave the Tigresses a chance to dole out minutes to their teammates on the bench.
Tacky Tacatac led UST with a game-high 12 points and added three steals. Kent Pastrana, recruited from La Salle-Zobel to become a centerpiece of the UST program, finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Rachelle Ambos added another double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Other contributors included Karylle Sierba (nine points, two steals) CJ Maglupay (eight points, 11 rebounds). Shane Salvani came through with eight points, 10 assists and six steals.
Those contributions have slowly baked a confidence into the reigning queens, who are looking to keep the title despite playing without a foreign student-athlete, a roster spot open for UAAP squads that allow them to sign talents from abroad.
Great defense
Ong managed to pick up a few pointers, too, that could help sharpen the Tigresses as they prepare for that duel against the Lady Bulldogs.
“We played according to our game plan [but] those easy baskets for FEU, our turnovers, we need to address those,” Ong said.
“But overall, we’re happy for the win.”
UST will have more than enough days to prepare for NU, and one thing also going for the Tigresses is their defense. They held FEU’s top scorer, MJ Manguiat (13.4 points per game), to just three points on Sunday on 0-of-10 shooting from the field.
FEU slid to a 2-7 record with Joann Nagma and Yvette Villanueva leading the Lady Tamaraws with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
In another Sunday game, Adamson scored a 57-54 victory over University of the Philippines, boosting its Final Four bid while putting a dent on the chances of the Maroons.
The Lady Falcons kept their hold of third spot with a 7-3 record.
“[We had] three games [that we tagged as] very crucial [for] our bid for a Final Four spot,” said Adamson head coach Ryan Monteclaro. “Luckily, we [won] two out of three. With this win, I hope this will be the momentum that we’re willing looking forward to heading into the deeper part of the season.”
UP, last season’s surprise squad, dropped to 3-6 and, with five games remaining, are now facing a shaky path to the Final Four.
