Nic Cabañero–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net Despite a roller-coaster ride so far in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, University of Santo Tomas is managing to hang on to a spot in the top four—albeit very precariously. With the Growling Tigers clinging to fourth place after arresting a three-game slide only last week, they know that every game counts from here on.
“All we can say is that we’re aiming for the Final Four. That’s it,” Nic Cabañero said as he tries to again lead the Tigers at 6:30 p.m.
at Mall of Asia Arena against the resurgent National University Bulldogs. “Those (three straight) losses became our motivation.” Both sides will actually be coming into the contest fresh from coming out of the rut, with the Bulldogs slaying top contender University of the Philippines (UP) by 20 points over the weekend, an upset that put the Fighting Maroons’ hopes of finishing No.
1 in peril. But unlike the Tigers, the Bulldogs have little hope of crashing the semifinals—but can very well take joy in the fact that they are spoiling the chances of many, like what they did to the Maroons. “We can’t do anything about it (semifinal chances) anymore, we’re undermanned, but as long as we still compete, that’s what’s important,” coach Jeff Napa said with a mix of Filipino after the win over UP.
“I told them to finish this season strong, that’s our mindset for now.” As things stand, Santo Tomas has a 5-6 card, just a game ahead of joint f.