UST comes back from 17 down to stun Letran in Filoil Flying V

MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas banked on a ferocious run from 17 down in the fourth – capped by a clutch drive by Clark Bautista – to halt Letran 78-77 Saturday in the 2013 Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup.

Bautista, who had three treys this game, did not let the Tigers’ comeback go to waste. Free from behind the arch, he threaded the lane instead for go-ahead two points with 3.7 seconds left.

“[Raymond] Lamazan got close that’s why there was no blocker underneath. Coach told us to take it hard to the basket,” Bautista, who finished with 17 points, said in Filipino.

It was UST’s first – and final – lead the entire second half, scoring just nine in the entire third quarter alone and then staring at 69-52 deficit with 7:18 to play.

Coach Pido Jarencio trusted his players, who also played in the tournament on Friday against San Sebastian, to turn up on defense in the face of a big lead.

“I told my players that whoever doesn’t play defense and is caught on screen is gay,” said Jarencio in jest, adding, “But since you put up a good defense, then you’re ‘he-man’”.

The Tigers held the Knights to just eight points in the last seven minutes of the game, then picked up on offense sparked by Aljon Mariano’s seven straight points to inch them closer, 67-61.

Ed Daquioag also kept UST within striking distance late in the game with his steady freethrow shooting, finishing with nine points — seven from the stripe.

Forward Kevin Ferrer added 15 points for the Tigers, who improved to 3-2 even as they played without Cameroonian center Karim Abdul who came to the game late.

“He [Karim] came in late that’s why I sent him home. I told him, ‘Just  go home’”, said Jarencio of Abdul’s absence.

Raymond Lamazan, the Knights’ towering center, meanwhile, continued to do work with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and blocks.

But Lamazan was shut down late in the fourth quarter, with Mark Cruz leading Letran in keeping UST at bay by scoring all his 13 points in the second half.

After a triple by Mejour Liub which put the Knights ahead, 77-68, they failed to score anew paving way for a game-clinching 10-run by UST.