Camille Naredo

UST's Charles Bucsit celebrates after scoring against NU-Nazareth School in the UAAP Season 87 boys' basketball tournament, March 6, 2025 at the FilOil EcOil Centre in San Juan. UAAP Media

UST's Charles Bucsit celebrates after scoring against NU-Nazareth School in the UAAP Season 87 boys' basketball tournament, March 6, 2025 at the FilOil EcOil Centre in San Juan

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UAAP Season 87

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741253059328UAAP87 HSBBB - CHARLES BUCSIT-3093.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>UST&#x27;s Charles Bucsit celebrates after scoring against NU-Nazareth School in the UAAP Season 87 boys&#x27; basketball tournament, March 6, 2025 at the FilOil EcOil Centre in San Juan. UAAP Media</div>MANILA (UPDATED) -- University of Santo Tomas on Thursday made sure that there will be a traditional Final 4 in the UAAP Season 87 boys&#x27; basketball tournament.The Tiger Cubs came away with an emphatic rout of National University-Nazareth School, 76-56, ending the Bullpups&#x27; perfect run at the FilOil EcOil Centre in San Juan.Already assured of the second seed, the Tiger Cubs (12-2) will be armed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals where they will play the Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, which dropped their final elims match to the De La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers later in the day, 71-61.UST also gained a measure of redemption from their 71-60 loss to the Bullpups in their first game of the season last January 19.Senegalese forward Racine Kane led the way for UST with 18 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. They denied NU-Nazareth&#x27;s bid for a first elimination round sweep since Season 82 in 2019 and prevented the Bullpups from claiming an outright Finals berth.Despite missing the services of Gilas Youth forward Carl Manding due to a minor ankle sprain, the win allowed UST to achieve its best finish in UAAP boys&#x27; basketball since an 11-3 record in Season 72 in 2009.&quot;They deserved to win this game. &#x27;Yon naman ang goal namin right from the start, na makakuha ng top two spot and ng twice-to-beat advantage. Nakuha na namin isang goal namin, pero our job is not done. Marami pa room for improvement and we&#x27;ll play harder dahil Final Four na ito, dadagdagan pa namin ng effort,&quot; said Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Inigo.UST broke the game open in the second half, turning a 33-29 halftime lead into a comfortable 55-43 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.The Tiger Cubs continued to pounce in the payoff period. A personal six-point run by co-captain Kirk Canete, a triple by Gilas Youth guard Wacky Ludovice, a layup by Kane, and another triple by Charles Bucsit extended the lead to 69-49 with 4:20 remaining.A key factor in UST&#x27;s second-half surge was their defensive effort against Collins Akowe, the frontrunner for Best Foreign Student Athlete. Akowe, who had eight points in the first half, was held scoreless in the second half.Koji Buenaflor continued his strong run with 14 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and one assist, while Ludovice contributed 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.Canete added 10 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, while Bucsit finished with eight points, five steals, and four rebounds.Meanwhile, the loss meant that NUNS will have the chance to seek revenge and dethrone titleholder Adamson University in the Final Four — a rematch of the Season 86 Finals.Mac Alfanta contributed 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Migs Palanca nearly achieved a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and two assists.Akowe&#x27;s 13-game double-double streak came to an end, as he finished with eight points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks.For De La Salle-Zobel, Gilas Youth center Daja top-scored with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting with seven rebounds, two rebounds, and one block, while co-captain Maco Dabao tallied 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block. Kieffer Alas also had an efficient outing with 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and one block.FEU-D, on the other hand, only had Mico Pascual as its lone double-digit scorer with 15 points and seven rebounds, while MVP frontrunner Cabs Cabonilas was limited to nine points on 2-of-9 shooting but contributed 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.<div>The Scores:</div><div>UST vs NUNS</div>UST (76) - Kane 18, Buenaflor 14, Ludovice 13, Canete 10, Bucsit 8, Esteban 6, Cinco 3, Solon 2, Vidanes 2, Bandingan 0, Acido 0, Javier 0.NUNS (56) - Alfanta 11, Palanca 10, Akowe 8, Solomon 5, Cartel 5, Natinga 5, Locsin 4, Napa 4, Lucido 2, Figueroa 2, Pillado 0, Usop 0, Matias 0, Nepacena 0.Quarterscores: 18-13, 33-29, 55-43, 76-56.<div> </div><div>DLSZ vs FEU-Diliman</div>DLSZ (71) - Daja 20, Dabao 18, Alas 16, Espinosa 11, Lopez 4, Thailand 2, Borrero 0, Arejola 0, Atienza 0, Favis 0, Gubat 0, Reguera 0.FEU-D (61) - Pascual 15, Cabonilas 9, Godoy 8, Burgos 8, Esperanza 7, Maierhofer 6, Salangsang 2, Hall 2, Raneses 2, De Guzman 2, Gemao 0, Santos 0, Castilejos 0.Quarterscores: 12-19, 27-30, 51-47, 71-61.<div></div>

University of Santo Tomas on Thursday made sure that there will be a traditional Final 4 in the UAAP Season 87 boys' basketball tournament.

University of Santo Tomas on Thursday made sure that there will be a traditional Final 4 in the UAAP Season 87 boys' basketball tournament.

NO SWEEP: Tiger Cubs rout Bullpups, force traditional Final 4

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NO SWEEP: Tiger Cubs rout Bullpups, force traditional Final 4

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 06, 2025 05:24 PM PHT

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Updated Mar 06, 2025 07:30 PM PHT

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