If there’s one man who remained unfazed during University of Santo Tomas’ poor start against University of the East, it was head coach Boy Sablan.
UST was down 20-8 in the first quarter and appeared out of it.
But that was until Renzo Subido unleashed a the best game of his career.
Subido scored 20 of his 26 points in the second and third quarters in what became UST’s rallying point for its 88-87 win.
And Sablan was well aware that Subido was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode any moment.
“Alam kong puputok yun, nakita ko na yun sa Cebu, sa Taiwan, tamang time lang talaga, alam kong mangyayari yun,” said Sablan after UST’s 88-87 escape Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Yan si Renzo Subido.”
Subido’s appearance was a mere cameo in UST’s surprise run in Season 78 after he sustained a torn ACL in his right knee, when the Growling Tigers roared to an 11-3 record before eventually losing to Far Eastern University in the finals.
This time under Sablan, Subido is front and center.
“Na-rattle kami pero we just have to trust one another, we trusted the system and did our job to be aggressive,” said Subido of their terrible start.
“Nakikita ko na down mga teammates ko, pero I used that as a challenge para ma-lift ang team ko.”
Subido capped off UST’s 9-2 run early in the fourth quarter with back-to-back triples giving the Growling Tigers a 78-66 lead.
“Coach Boy wants me to score, and entering the season he asked me if I could play two guard kasi nandyan si Sheriff and Marvin (Lee),” said Subido. “So he wants me to focus sa scoring ko.”