University of Santo Tomas star Collins Akowe in action against Ateneo de Manila University in UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball. Photo from UAAP Media.
MANILA (UPDATED) — University of Santo Tomas notched a crucial 67-59 victory over Ateneo de Manila University as the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball Final 4 race heats up.
The Growling Tigers claimed the current solo fourth in the team standings after their Saturday matchup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, and leading the way was Collins Akowe.
"Super important nung presence ni Collins," said UST deputy Japs Cuan of the rookie, who was a beast on both ends with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks.
"Kita niyo naman how he protected the paint. But also, hindi lang naman si Collins," he added after the España-based squad listed its seventh victory in 12 outings.
Nic Cabañero had an all-around game with 14 markers, seven boards, and six assists, while Gelo Crisostomo chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
Only a two-possession game in crunch time, Cabañero made a crucial deuce at the 2:21 mark to push their lead to eight, 63-55, as Ateneo attempted to crawl back from a 10-point deficit.
While this left the Blue Eagles enough time to recover, Akowe and Crisostomo manned the paint on the opposite end as they rejected the shots of Dom Escobar and Kymani Ladi, respectively, and that was all they needed to sweep Ateneo this season.
UST trails National University (11-2), University of the Philippines (8-3), and De La Salle University (6-4).
On the other hand, Ladi had 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field while Escobar contributed eight points and eight rebounds, but the Katipunan-based squad was handed their sixth loss in 11 games.
This tied them with Adamson University in the fifth and sixth places in the team standings with only three games left in the eliminations.
The Scores:
UST 67 – Akowe 15, Cabañero 14, Crisostomo 10, Acido 9, Paranada 7, Padrigao 6, Llemit 2, Buenaflor 2, Danting 2, Estacio 0, Calum 0.
Ateneo 59 – Ladi 14, Escobar 8, Tuano 8, Bahay 7, Adili 6, Lazaro 4, Bongo 4, Espina 2, Espinosa 2, Lazo 2, Fjellvang 2.
Quarterscores: 25-18, 35-33, 53-46, 67-59.