Former UST star Dylan Ababou all praises for Kevin Ferrer

Jeron Teng of La salle is fouled by Kevin Ferrer of UST at the Smart Araneta .
INQUIRER PHOTO /AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines — The limelight struck on the rivalry of brothers Jeric and Jeron Teng in this year’s UAAP men’s basketball finals.

But right from the get-go, Kevin Ferrer stole the show.

Ferrer, the University of Santo Tomas’ forward, had the hot hand Wednesday night as he torched De La Salle with 20 points built on five three-pointers to lead the Growling Tigers to a 73-72 win in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series.

“Relax lang ako and ginamit ko lang experience ko and pag na-pressure ako maapektuhan laro ko,” Ferrer told INQUIRER.net inside the winning dugout of the Araneta Coliseum.

And certainly, Ferrer seemed impervious to pressure as he also came up with the biggest shot of the game and perhaps his career.

With UST desperately clinging onto a one-point lead, Ferrer took matters into his own hands with a deep triple from the top of the key off a broken play with 41 ticks left.

“Pataas na talaga laro niya. Talagang focused siya,” said UST head coach Pido Jarencio of his third-year starter.

Jarencio has always been a believer of Ferrer’s capabilities and so is former UST standout Dylan Ababou.

And for Ababou, a one-time UAAP MVP and a vital piece to UST’s 2006 championship run, Ferrer is another key advantage the Growling Tigers have against the Green Archers.

“Napakalaking advantage ni Kevin. Kevin is really one of the most promising college players today. He has the height, has the shooting, he can dribble and defend. He is the complete package,” praised the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel swingman Ababou as he celebrated inside the UST dugout.

“He played big this game very important yung mga three-point shots niya,” added Ababou.

And for Ferrer, there’s no letting up now. “Nothing to lose kami and yung pressure nasa kanila. Basta itutuloy ko lang kung ano yung ginagawa ko.”