UAAP: Nic Cabañero hopes UST’s breakthrough leads to more wins

UST’s Nic Cabañero.–UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — After finally ending the University of Santo Tomas’ longest losing streak in history, Nic Cabañero and the Growling Tigers are determined to get more wins in the second round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament.

Cabañero, who couldn’t hide his frustration when UST suffered its 19th straight loss after getting blown out by Ateneo last Wednesday, stayed true to his promise to keep working until he finally delivered a win for his school.

The third-year swingman led UST to an elusive win on Sunday at the expense of Far Eastern University after pouring in 23 points  past Far Eastern University at Mall of Asia Arena.

“I’m so happy and I have the same feeling as Christian [Manaytay], we’re overwhelmed,” said Cabañero in Filipino after a 68-62 win over the Tamaraws. “This will give us confidence going into the next round. We’ll be happy to end the first round with a win, But we’re gonna work tomorrow again and we will continue to show Pride, Puso, Palaban.”

“It’s been a long time since we won a game. We needed to feel the satisfaction of getting a win. I do hope we can continue this in the second round,” he added.

Nic Cabañero.–UAAP PHOTO

Cabañero credited his teammates for holding the fort and closing out the game in the final frame after FEU hounded him.

“Credit to our teammates because we continue to trust each other and our coaches who didn’t stop supporting us. They had sleepless nights just to be there for us. Thank you, Coach Pido, Coach Japs, and to all coaches and management,” he said.

Christian Manaytay, who posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, was emotional after the Tigers improved to 1-6 record to end the first round despite missing their foreign student-athlete Adama Faye due to a back injury.

“We really needed to step up because we don’t have our import. Credit to our other bigs Echo [Laure], [Angelo] Crisostomo, and [Thirdy] Esmena because during practice we push each other,” Manaytay said in Filipino. “We’re the remaining bigs here so we have to hang on, rely on each other, and keep on fighting.”

Manaytay feels that this much-needed win will finally light the fire under the Tigers to get more wins in the second round.

“I feel that we needed this win to uplift us in our next games. This will boost our confidence. We’re very thankful to the organization, coaches, managers, and especially the UST community for their unending support,” he said.