Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Renzo Subido may not have gotten his fair share of points but that didn’t stop him from playing an integral role in University of Santo Tomas’ beatdown of University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball semifinals.
The diminutive senior served as the engine to UST’s well-oiled machine when he dished out 12 assists in the Growling Tigers’ 89-69 win Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Subido, who finished with eight points on 8-of-10 shooting, said he was more than happy sharing the rock with his teammates which was something his head coach Aldin Ayo also wanted him to do.
“Coach Aldin wanted me to be a smart point guard, that’s why I did my job,” said the 5-foot-7 Subido in Filipino. “I saw my teammates open and I gave them the ball.”
That’s exactly what Subido did especially down the stretch that led to key baskets by his teammates.
With UP going for one last push, Subido dished out three assists that put the game beyond reach.
He set up Sherwin Concepcion’s three-pointer that put UST up 75-63 with 2:58 left then, followed it up with another pass to Mark Nonoy’s corner three-pointer 20 seconds later for the Growling Tigers’ 78-63 buffer.
Subido then, capped it off with a dish to Nonoy for a wide-open three-pointer from the top of the key that pushed UST’s advantage to 85-65 with 50.6 seconds to play.
“My points usually come off the plays so I really don’t go looking for it. What I do have are teammates who can score and today they were open and I just gave them the ball,” said Subido, who averaged just 3.5 assists in the elimination round.