Mighty Tigers

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Coach Aldin Ayo knew he had a couple of gems for rookies who would make an impact with the team in UAAP Season 82. But just to be on the sure side of things, he made sure they were well-prepared.

“Late last year, we were already getting them prepared for this season,” Ayo, the University of Santo Tomas coach, said.

That preparation is showing. Rhenz Abando was stellar in the Tigers’ first win this season. Mark Nonoy took care of things in the stretch Saturday as UST stunned last year’s finalist University of the Philippines, 85-69, to zoom to the early lead in the men’s basketball tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigers dismantled the Maroons by pushing the pace at every opportunity and using the three-point shot as their main weapon. And when things got a little tight in the end game, Nonoy came through in the stretch with five big points before backcourt mate Renzo Subido drilled back-to-back triples to put the game away.

UST took a second straight victory to momentarily stay on top of the field and send preseason pundits refining their form charts.

Ayo, though, still thinks the victory hasn’t really sent shivers down the spines of collegiate powerhouses just yet.

“I can’t think of it as a statement win although on paper, UP has the more talented team than us,” said Ayo, who won an NCAA title with Letran in 2015 and La Salle a year later. “Of course, we prepared and it just so happened that our game plan worked. It wasn’t perfect but it worked.”

Earlier, Congolese big man Lenda Douanga nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Adamson past National U, 84-83, and even its record to 1-1.

“We don’t think it was a lucky shot because it was a designed play,” a smiling Adamson coach Franz Pumaren said of Douanga’s game winner that capped a 26-point effort from the newcomer, who was picked over another foreign player, Papi Sarr, when Adamson finalized its lineup.

The win spoiled a spectacular game from sophomore Dave Ildefonso, who had all of NU’s nine points in the extra period and finished with 29 points. Ildefonso gave the Bulldogs the lead with a tough drive with 1.4 seconds remaining.

Nonoy’s numbers may have paled in comparison, finishing with 16 points. But the standout from La Carlota, Negros Occidental, hit the key shots when it mattered.

UST was up 67-63 when Subido and Brent Paraiso started the Tigers’ key stretch run, which Noynoy greased with five straight points that gave his team a 79-69 spread, 1:22 to play.

Entering the season with a modest goal of surpassing their six-win total from last season, the Tigers have thrust themselves into the conversation as one of the title contenders. Whether they stay there long will be known by Wednesday, when UST faces defending champion Ateneo.

“This is just one game and we still have 12 more, but at least our system is in place,” said Ayo, whose team shot 21 less triples this time compared to its 95-82 win over UE.

After going 14-of-49 from the three-point zone in their season debut, the Tigers shot 9-of-28 this time.

“It’s not about getting three pointers, but what the defense gives us and we don’t settle for the best shots. As you saw today, our advantage will be our speed. The players are not conscious whether we are ahead or not because they were too focused with executing our game plan.”

Beninese Soulemane Chabi Yo came out strong with 18 points and 18 rebounds for UST while Abando, who sparkled with 22 points against UE, shot 12 points. Subido added 13 points.