MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Pido Jarencio is on a mission to bring University of Santo Tomas (UST) out of the doldrums of the UAAP.
And after an offseason spent assembling a crack pack that seems capable of doing that, the Growling Tigers’ bid rests a lot on a point guard that has embraced the challenge of taking the title back to España.
Forth Padrigao, the transferee from Ateneo after Season 85 where he spearheaded the Blue Eagles to their last championship, will play a huge part in Jarencio’s scheme of things, justifying that by leading the Tigers to an impressive debut on Sunday, a 70-55 demolition of University of the East at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, Adamson also got off to a strong start with a 59-47 trimming of Far Eastern in the second game.
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Royce Mantua was a difference-maker for the Soaring Falcons in his return from residency after finishing with 14 points.
“When I joined Ateneo, there was already an established culture. So here at UST, it’s a new challenge because we’re trying to build a [winning] culture here,” Padrigao told reporters after shooting five points that went with six rebounds and seven assists while orchestrating the Santo Tomas offense.
Only a select few from the Season 86 roster are left on the squad, as the arrival of a new breed of Tigers hand-picked by Jarencio in the offseason look ready to make Santo Tomas a legitimate contender again.
‘[H]elp from the heart’
And Jarencio liked what he saw after the first skirmish of the season.
“These players who transferred to us are easy to talk to as well as the coaches that are here with us,” Jarencio, who won a title as a coach in 2006, said. “They want to work, help me and help UST.
“As long as they want to help from the heart, they will be easy to work with. Those who are here are easy to work with and those we removed from the team had bad vibes.”
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“I hope that whatever culture we build makes us better in our next few games,” Padrigao said after playing his first UAAP game in two years. “[Winning], though, is not gonna happen overnight, especially almost everyone of us here are new.”
Despite being in early foul trouble, go-to guy Nic Cabañero still wound up leading the Tigers offensively with 14 points highlighted by two three-pointers in the second quarter.
Malian rookie Mo Tounkara was impressive in performing the task he was recruited for as he shot 66.7 percent from close range to finish with 13 points.
Another holdover, Christian Manaytay, didn’t miss a shot and finished with 10 points and three rebounds, while Mark Llemit had nine points and four rebounds.
The next Santo Tomas game will be against Padrigao’s former team on Wednesday, but the heady point guard will not treat this one any different.
“Like how we prepared for the game earlier will also be how we’re gonna prepare in our next games no matter whoever that is.,” he said. “We’re just gonna be prepared. I just wanna win and help the team.”