Tigers roar, soar

MANILA, Philippines — Never-say-die Santo Tomas continued to thrive in the jungle after claiming the scalp of twice-to-beat-armed UP, 89-69 to forge a rubber match in the second phase of the 82nd UAAP men’s basketball tournament stepladder semifinals in front of a crowd of nearly 18,000 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum last night.

After surviving the first stepladder stage against FEU in a knockout affair Wednesday, the Tigers marched into the battle with even sharper claws versus the Maroons who seemed to get rusty from a long break.

The Tigers opened the game with a scorching 18-7 start that set the stage for their dominant 20-point victory.

Five Tigers hit double digits in a scattered assault led by Rhenz Abando who nailed three triples to finish with 17 points on top of three blocks as Santo Tomas survived another do-or-die setto, dragging the Maroons into a sudden-death battle Wednesday with the winner advancing to the best-of-three finals against unbeaten Ateneo.

Season MVP Soulemane Chabi Yo posted 17 points and 15 rebounds on top of two assists and four steals while Mark Nonoy (16) Sherwin Concepcion (12) and CJ Cansino (11) also stepped up as UST foiled UP’s first of two shots at the finals.

“It’s about execution both on offense and defense. We executed our game plan, and the players followed all the instructions,” said coach Aldin Ayo as Santo Tomas made it 3-0 versus UP this season.

From being the lowest-seeded team in the semis, the Tigers have gone this far in the stepladder semifinals as they are now one win away from barging back to the finals after a four-year absence.

But Ayo wanted his wards to remain hungry and locked-in, calling on his wards to not sit on their laurels just yet.

“We know that it is difficult. It seems to be a steep mountain to climb, but our mindset is (you’d get there) if you know how to get there and you’re willing,” he said.

In peak condition after a dogfight with the Tams last Wednesday, the Tigers got off to a roaring start and took the half at 41-24.

Though the Maroons launched repeated rallies, the closest they could get was at 63-72.

Juan Gomez de Liano (20), Bright Akhuetie (19) and Ricci Rivero (12) paced the Maroons as star forward Kobe Paras bled for just nine markers on 4-of-13 clip.