Growling Tigers take semis edge

MANILA, Philippines - Leaving nothing to chance, University of Santo Tomas hacked out a 78-63 rout of Adamson to claim the first twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigers took charge early with a 12-0 run and repeatedly stepped on the gas pedal to keep the Falcons at bay en route to finishing the eliminations with 11-3 and guaranteeing a Top 2 position in the Final Four regardless of the results of the other matches.

UST, which returned to the semis after missing it out last year, could even end up No. 1 if idle leader Far Eastern (10-2) either splits its last two assignments against semis-chasing National U and La Salle or loses both games.

“We’ve worked so hard to achieve our goal of getting the semis incentive. But we’ll not stop there, we’ll continue to work hard in practice and prepare for whichever team we face,” said UST coach Bong dela Cruz in Filipino.

Kevin Ferrer rifled in a game-high 25 spiked by four triples and grabbed 10 to help the Tigers follow up their 85-76 victory over the Tams and avoid the possibility of having to go through a KO match for the semis bonus against charging Ateneo (9-4).

La Salle arrested a three-game skid, beating University of the Philippines, 72-68, to revive its semis aspirations.

The Archers rode on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to turn the game around then leaned on Jeron Teng’s freethrow shooting down the stretch to improve to 6-7 and tie National U – their main rival for the last semis seat – at fourth.

“There’s a sense of urgency that the players showed today. Even though Jeron hurt his back in the first half and Thomas (Torres) sprained his ankle, they still showed tremendous heat in coming to play,” said DLSU coach Juno Sauler.