On Saturday, the UST Growling Tigers upended the La Salle Green Archers, 93-84, thanks to mammoth games from Nic Cabañero (27 points) and Collins Akowe (20 points, 19 boards). The victory means UST has now beaten the last two UAAP champions and the finalists of Season 87 in its first two games of UAAP Season 88. It also means the Growling Tigers have finally beaten the Green Archers after 9 years and 19 days—or after a grand total of 17 straight losses.
See, the last time UST beat La Salle was back on October 11, 2015, in Season 78, when the España-based squad eked out an 81-79 victory over their counterparts from Taft. It was so long ago that a lot had happened between that win in 2015 and Saturday’s statement victory in 2025. To prove it, here’s what was going on the last time the Growling Tigers beat the Green Archers:
Kiefer Ravena, RR Pogoy, and More Were Still in College
The last time UST beat La Salle, Kiefer Ravena, RR Pogoy, Kevin Ferrer, and more were the faces of UAAP basketball. Now, most of them are pros, some have won championships in the PBA, others have suited up for Gilas Pilipinas, and a few—Mac Belo and former Growling Tiger Ed Daquioag come to mind—are no longer playing in Asia’s first pay-for-play league.
ABS-CBN Was Broadcasting the Games
Yes, once upon a time, media giant ABS-CBN was covering the UAAP basketball games—not Cignal TV (through One Sports). But COVID-19 (and Rodrigo Duterte) happened and life as we knew it changed drastically. Season 82 was cut short by quarantine measures, ABS-CBN had its license to operate revoked, and the UAAP moved on and found a new broadcast partner in Cignal TV.
The Duterte Era Hadn’t Yet Begun—and an Aquino Was in Power
Speaking of the elder Duterte, he was just making a name for himself back then on a national scale. Support for his presidential candidacy was snowballing at that time, but the then Davao mayor was still undecided if he’d run or not. A month after UST beat La Salle, Duterte formally announced his candidacy—and the rest was history (in a good or bad way depending on who you ask).
There Was This Thing Called ‘AlDub’
At about the same time the Duterte Era was unfolding on the political front, the entertainment side of things was witnessing a budding phenomenon that later on became “AlDub”—a love team of the fictional character “Yaya Dub” (Maine Mendoza) and Alden Richards (playing a fictionalized version of himself) that featured prominently in Eat Bulaga’s Kalyeserye. The pairing started out innocuously enough but became a huge hit, so much so that an AlDub-themed benefit concert all but filled up the cavernous Philippine Arena with passionate, sometimes overzealous fans.
LRT-1 Was Up to Baclaran Only
The last time UST beat La Salle, the country’s first railway, LRT-1, spanned from Roosevelt in Quezon City to Baclaran in Pasay only, not to Dr. Santos in Las Piñas. Back then, the five additional stations (Redemptorist-ASEANA, MIA Road, PITX, Ninoy Aquino Avenue, and Dr. Santos) and beyond were still just a pipe dream, with the planned extension to Cavite still up in the air. On September 12, 2015—or a month before the Growling Tigers’ win—the government formally turned over the extension project to Light Rail Manila Corporation, with construction beginning two years later in 2017.
Shopee, TikTok, and Others Were Either Non-Existent Yet or Not Fully Operational
Today’s recognizable brand names—many of them used extensively by many of us—were either not operational yet or had just been rolled out. Shopee, for instance, hadn’t entered the Philippines yet, while GrabFood hadn’t been launched. There was still no Angkas back then, too, while GCash wasn’t yet as ubiquitous then as it is now. Even TikTok wasn’t around back then, while Instagram was just starting to really take off in the Philippines.
The iPhone and Galaxy S Flagships Were in Their Sixth Iteration
When UST last beat La Salle back in 2015, the flagship or “in” phones of the time were the iPhone 6 and 6S and the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Fast forward to 2025 and the iPhone series is now on its 17th iteration (the iPhone 17 was released just this September), while the Galaxy S line is up to 25.
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Needless to say, the Philippines—and the world, really—was a much different place the last time the Growling Tigers beat La Salle in UAAP basketball. It’s just one win, obviously, but it has to feel good both for the team and the entire UST community.
