UST defies the odds

University of Santo Tomas (UST) had nothing to lose and everything to gain in the best-of-three University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) senior men’s basketball finals against favored Ateneo.

The Growling Tigers weren’t even supposed to play in the title series.

But deep inside, rookie coach Alfredo (Pido) Jarencio knew the team was destined for bigger things. He never pushed the Tigers to the point of backing them against the wall. He never made them feel the pressure of playing for a championship. Instead, he just thanked the players for overachieving from one level to the next until the title was in the bag.

In overtime of the deciding Game 3 at the Araneta Coliseum last Monday, Jarencio playfully kissed the hand of Japs Cuan at the sidelines before the point guard took two free throws. More than anything, that painted a clear picture of how Jarencio approached the title series — he wanted the players to just play and have fun.

Not that Jarencio is a stranger to pressure. In 16 seasons as a pro cager, Jarencio never flinched in the eye of any storm and once shot 39 points. He survived year after year in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) pressure cooker where the competition for playing jobs is fierce and ruthless. Jarencio played for Magnolia, San Miguel Beer, Presto, Purefoods, Swift, Gordon’s Gin, Ginebra San Miguel, Tanduay and Pop Cola in a career that covered 590 games up to 2001.

Little did Jarencio realize that while playing in the PBA, he undertook the best possible training for a future career as coach. He learned the ropes from the masters of the game — Derick Pumaren, Norman Black, Baby Dalupan, Yeng Guiao, Robert Jaworski, Alfrancis Chua and Chot Reyes. And during his amateur days, Jarencio was mentored by the best of them all, Ron Jacobs.

How ironic that in this season’s UAAP finals, Jarencio went up against his former coach. Black was San Miguel’s playing coach when Jarencio suited up for the Beermen in 1987. Jarencio played sparingly that year as Black’s third guard behind Hector Calma and Franz Pumaren.

Black is on his second season as Ateneo coach and Jarencio, on his first with UST.

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At the start of the UAAP wars, it didn’t look like the Tigers had a chance to even advance to the Final Four. The year before, UST got off to a lowly 1-6 start and wound up at 4-10. Jarencio brought in three rookies — Jervy Cruz, Mel Gile and A. C. Marquez — but there was no indication things would be dramatically better than in the previous campaign.

UST lost its season-opener to the University of the Philippines (UP) by two, spoiling Jarencio’s debut on the bench. At one point, the Tigers were 2-5, reeling from a four-game losing streak that included a shameful 36-point loss to Ateneo.

Slowly, the troops began to rally around Jarencio and in the second round, UST showed grit in hacking out an 88-80 overtime verdict over the Blue Eagles to stamp its class as a serious contender.

To be sure, it was a hard climb to the top.

UST beat Adamson twice in a row to gain the No. 3 seeding in the Final Four. Then, the Tigers defeated the University of the East Warriors two straight to advance to the finals. Finally, the Tigers upended Ateneo twice in succession to capture the title.

How the Tigers defied the odds not once, not twice but thrice in carving out tough back-to-back wins over three formidable opponents is a tribute to their fighting heart and Jarencio’s never-say-die attitude.

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During the season, UST lost twice to UP and even bowed to National University. The Tigers finished the double round eliminations with an unspectacular 6-6 mark. But when it came to winning the games that mattered, the Tigers were always up to the task.

Maybe, it was former player John Apil’s intervention from above. Apil was a rookie last year and died of electrocution before the season began. The Tigers dedicated the championship to their late teammate.

Clearly, Ateneo felt the pressure to win more than the Tigers because the Eagles were the consensus pick to run away with the crown. They were 10-2 in the eliminations and took only a game to oust Adamson for the first finals slot. J. C. Intal, Macky Escalona and Doug Kramer were on their last year of eligibility so there was no tomorrow for the graduating threesome.

The pressure was evident in Game 2 of the title series as Ateneo committed 18 turnovers, compared to UST’s 10, and missed 14 free throws to UST’s 10.

When Cruz and Allan Evangelista fouled out in regulation of Game 3, UST didn’t waver because the Tigers just didn’t feel the pressure. Stepping up became second nature to the Tigers who unveiled new heroes in Jojo Duncil, Jun Dizon, Jun Cortez and Anthony Espiritu.

Next season, only Evangelista and Jemal Vizcarra won’t be back on the UST team to defend the crown. That only means Jarencio will lean almost on a full deck to go for a repeat. But it will also mean UST will be pressured to win, putting Jarencio in an unfamiliar role of favorite.