UST's Kent Pastrana in action against UE in the UAAP Season 88 women's basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media
MANILA -- The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses got a timely reminder from one of their coaches after their 125-50 drubbing of University of the East in the UAAP Season 88 women's basketball tournament on Wednesday.
The Growling Tigresses are already assured of a spot in the Final 4 and are one step closer to taking a twice-to-beat advantage after their huge victory at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Now at 11-0 in the tournament, UST has emerged as the team to beat in Season 88 but assistant coach Ged Austria was quick to remind the team to stay hungry, as he believes that they have yet to overcome the gold standard of the division -- the National University Lady Bulldogs.
READ: Pastrana's career-game fuels UST's huge win over UE
"Well everyone is saying that [we’ve been dominant this season] pero of course, previously kasi ang gold standard ay NU kasi eight [time champion] sila diba? We don’t want to look at it that way," Austria said postgame.
"Hindi naman kami ang defending champion this season eh so technically kami pa rin ang naghahabol, we have that goal [to win the championship] but at the same time, [we need to] stick to the process," he added.
Austria also said that while he is happy about the Tigresses’ stainless record as of late, they should remain hungry no matter the opponent, and know the boundaries between being confident and complacent.
"Ni-reremind namin na it's a different thing when someone is confident compared sa complacent so be confident in what you do pero kailangan hindi ka complacent kasi ang kalaban niyo [ay] equally [talented] basketball players rin naman," the UST assistant coach said.
Growling Tigresses team captain Kent Pastrana also said that while the team has yet to lose a game this season, there are still many gaps that they have to work on both individually and as a team.
"Personally gusto ko lang i-improve pa yung defense ko and syempre mas maging aggressive pa sa depensa kasi alam kong dun ako kailangan ng mga teammates ko when it comes sa loob ng court," Pastrana said after the game.
As they brace for their last two elimination games against the Ateneo Blue Eagles and defending champions NU Lady Bulldogs, Austria hopes to use their dominant win today as a momentum boost for the next two weeks.
"We just want to continue and carry on with our momentum especially [since] yung next two opponents namin [are] Ateneo and NU which are technically our top 2 opponents," Austria said.
"Whatever happens sa results [ng game], ang sinasabi namin sa players, don’t think about the results just think about the task at hand tapos tiwala sa sarili, sa teammates, sa coaches and once you believe and then you do that process, the results will take care of itself," he added.
The Growling Tigresses currently stand in a solo first place with an 11-0 win-loss record. They will go head-to-head with the Blue Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Araneta Coliseum.