Fully embracing Ayo’s system doing wonders for UST Tigers
Things are looking up for University of Santo Tomas after its subpar start in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament.
The Growling Tigers opened the season with 1-4 slate but bolstered their bid with to two straight wins to end the first round.
Article continues after this advertisementUST won by an average of 14 points in its past two games, including the 86-72 mauling of University of the Philippines, and the players credit that good run to their familiarity with head coach Aldin Ayo’s system.
“We’re finally getting to implement coach Aldin’s system. Before, our practice sessions everything been really smooth but once we’re in the game everything seems to fall apart,” said star rookie CJ Cansino in Filipino Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Cansino filled up the stat sheets for the Growling Tigers with 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals while getting substantial help from Ken Zamora who had 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep.
Article continues after this advertisementUST started the game with an 8-0 spurt and that caused a ripple that turned into a massive wave the Fighting Maroons had no chance of getting over.
The Growling Tigers were merciless in the third quarter mounting a 76-46 lead and that was enough to take the fight out of the Fighting Maroons.
“The coaches never got tired of us, one small mistake and they will immediately guide us on how to do it right,” said Zamora in Filipino. “Coach Aldin just told us that we should just lean on the system once we play.”
UST’s 30-point lead got trimmed down to 14, 83-69, with 1:59 left after Will Gozum’s basket capped off UP’s 19-4 run but that scoring charge proved to be a futile attempt at taking the game away from the Tigers’ grasps.
Cansino said they’ve finally managed to transition everything from practice into games, and it’s all been part of the trust their coaches have given them.
“We’ve finally adapted the system, we’ve brought what we did in practice to the actual game,” said Cansino who has averaged 16.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in UST’s past two wins.
