University of Santo Tomas head coach Pido Jarencio in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball Final 4. Photo from UAAP Media.MANILA — University of Santo Tomas’ UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball campaign ended in heartbreak, with the Growling Tigers bowing to the University of the Philippines in the Final 4 once again.
Terrence Fortea drained the go-ahead three-pointer in crunch time, a shot that eventually stood as the game-winner, and UST head coach Pido Jarencio offered no excuses about how the final sequences unfolded.
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“We did our best. We lost by one point to the defending champion, and that’s it,” the fiery mentor told a few reporters before exiting the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, in the wake of UST's 82-81 loss to UP.
UST had multiple chances to steal the win, but Nic Cabañero missed both of his attempts at the rim. Still, Jarencio had no qualms about his veteran scorer.
“Breaks of the game na lang eh,” he said. “Binigay ko na sa senior player ko yung last two plays. Yung una, kay Nic, open na open, pwedeng tawagan goaltending, pwedeng block, pero wala. Second, kay Nic pa rin, pero breaks of the game lang.”
Instead of ending the season completely on a sour note, Jarencio chose to thank the Thomasians for their support and expressed optimism for the program’s direction.
“Basta ako, nagpapasalamat lang ako sa community, sa suporta nila. Basta kami, hindi kami nagkulang, pinasaya namin lahat,” he said. “Next year, may mga recruit na kami, mga naka-ready.”
The question now is if Jarencio will still be calling the shots in Season 89, especially after acknowledging that this year served as a “contract year” for him and with San Miguel Corporation backing the program
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“‘Di ko pa alam. ‘Di pa natin alam kung anong mangyayari sa amin, kung kami pa rin or hindi na,” he said. “Kung wala na, edi pumalit yung iba.”
“But for us, ginawa namin yung tama. Wala kaming maling ginawa. Maayos. Patay, binuhay namin. In two years, Final Four, third place,” Jarencio reflected.