UAAP: UST overwhelms UP, ends first round on winning note

MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) University of Santo Tomas (UST), undermanned and all, completely overwhelmed University of the Philippines (UP) on Wednesday to end the first round of the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament on a high note.

Playing for the first time since center Steve Akomo was diagnosed with a blood clot in his brain, the Growling Tigers made their big man proud by demolishing the Fighting Maroons, 86-72, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Tigers raced off to a quick 8-0 start and never let up, eventually leading by as much as 30 points on their way to their third victory of the season. UST ended the first round with a 3-4 win-loss record.

Leading the way once more for UST was their rookie sensation CJ Cansino, who put up superb all-around numbers of 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in the victory. Renzo Subido (13 points), Ken Zambora (12) and Marvin Lee (11) all reached double-digits, while Zach Huang had 9 points and 13 rebounds.

“Everybody came out to play,” said UST head coach Aldin Ayo. “Almost all of my players, they played well, they executed the game plan, and they were more relaxed.”

“They were just playing basketball, and they’re having fun. We were playing as a team, and I think that was the difference compared to our previous games,” he added.

• READ: UST's Steve Akomo not in ICU, not to be operated on

The Growling Tigers set the tone of the game immediately by dropping 31 points in the opening quarter, with their guards finding their mark from beyond the arc.

They continued to pour it on in the second, this time pouncing on UP’s inability to defend without fouling as Cansino, Huang, Enrique Caunan, and Macoy Marcos all made the Fighting Maroons pay at the line.

UST’s lead ballooned to 30 points in the third period, after Cansino knocked down a three-pointer to make it 71-41 with 2:32 left in the frame. The Tigers led 76-46 heading into the payoff period, an advantage that was too much for UP to overhaul.

The Fighting Maroons managed to cut the deficit to 14 points, 83-69, with two minutes to go off a Will Gozum lay-up, but it was simply too late for UP as they succumbed to their fourth loss against three wins.

“Of course, this is for Steve,” said Ayo. “This is for all the players, this is for the community. This is for UST.”

Even without Akomo, UST had a 51-38 rebounding advantage over UP and their 19 offensive rebounds led to 18 second chance points. The Tigers cooled down after shooting a blistering 51.61% from the field in the first half, and finished the game with a 41.43% mark.

UP wound up shooting better from the field, at 42.47%. They also outscored UST, 26-10, in the fourth frame -- the only time they scored more than 20 points in a quarter. Unfortunately for the Fighting Maroons, they had dug themselves into too deep of a hole.

Bright Akhuetie had 18 points and 11 boards, while Javi Gomez de Liano tallied 12 points for UP. But Juan Gomez de Liano was held to only 9 points on 4-of-10 shooting, and was saddled with foul trouble for most of the game.

With identical 3-4 win-loss records, UST and UP are currently tied for fifth and sixth in the league standings.

The scores:

UST 86 – Cansino 16, Subido 13, Zamora 12, Lee 11, Huang 9, Caunan 8, Bonleon 7, Agustin 5, Mahinay 2, Bataller 2, Marcos 1, Cosejo 0.

UP 72 – Akhuetie 18, Gomez de Liaño Ja. 12, Dario 10, Gomez de Liaño Ju. 9, Desiderio 6, Murrell 6, Vito 3, Lim 2, Spencer 2, Tungcab 2, Gozum 2, Manzo 0, Jaboneta 0.

Quarterscores: 31-16, 53-29, 76-46, 86-72.

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