As far as Amiel Acido is concerned, it was a tale of two halves for the UST Growling Tigers on Wednesday in their big 81-69 victory over the FEU Tamaraws at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In the first half, the Growling Tigers couldn’t get untracked and struggled mightily on offense. To make matters worse, they kept surrendering layups and open threes to the Tamaraws, who took a 41-28 lead into intermission.
Those struggles weren’t lost on Acido, who rued UST’s lack of defense in that first half as the primary reason the España side fell behind early.
“First half talagang nag-struggle kami,” Acido admitted in an interview with Rebanse after the game. “‘Yung gigil namin, gusto kasi talaga namin bumawi, manalo. During the first half, mas nag-focus kami sa offense, so medyo nag-lack kami sa defense. Parang naparusahan kami. ‘Yung mga shots nako-convert nila, ‘yung mga lapses namin sa defense, kitang-kita sa first half.”
In that first half, FEU shot 16-for-40 from the field for a 40.0% clip. UST, on the other hand, went 7-for-35 for an atrocious 20.0% overall.
Acido, Growling Tigers Shift Focus to Defense
Things were vastly different in the second half. The Growling Tigers clamped down on defense, taking away the open looks they repeatedly gave the Tamaraws in the first half. The shooting numbers bear that out, as FEU shot just 10-for-38 from the field in the last 24 minutes and just 28%—same as UST’s in the first half.
“Nung dumating naman ‘yung second half, dun na kami ginising ng mga coaches. Sinabi nila sa amin ‘yung mga mistakes namin, ‘yung mga kailangan namin i-adjust,” Acido added. “Nung second half mas nag-focus na kami sa defense. ‘Yung sa offense namin, more on nagtutulungan na kami, hindi na namin pinapahirapan mga sarili namin. Mas naging effective kami don.”
Again, the numbers bear out Acido’s assessment. The Growling Tigers, this time moving the ball around more and finding the open man, found their stride, shooting 19-for-33 in the second half, including 11-for-14 in the third quarter. At one point, UST went 7-for-8 as it unleashed 16 unanswered to turn a 46-40 deficit into a 56-46 bubble.
UST Holds Off FEU
FEU eventually fought back in the fourth and tied the game at 69. But what appeared to be a wild finish turned into a blowout as UST held the Tamaraws scoreless in the last 2:39 while firing 12 for the win. It is the Growling Tigers’ third win as against three losses in the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament. For the Tamaraws, the loss is only their second as against four victories.
It was a fitting finish for the Growling Tigers’ dramatic second-half turnaround. And now Acido and company will be carrying some momentum when they take on the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday, October 17, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
