The UST Growling Tigresses continued their strong start to the UAAP Season 89 Women’s Basketball Tournament after defeating the Adamson Lady Falcons, 83‑65, at the PhilSports Arena.
The Lady Falcons kept pace with UST in the first half, with Brianna Bajo and Coi Danganan exchanging three‑pointers before the Growling Tigresses carried a 44‑36 advantage into halftime.
UST Makes Its Move
UST began creating separation after the break, outscoring Adamson, 23‑16, in the third quarter to take a 67‑52 lead heading into the final period.
The Growling Tigresses then clamped down defensively. Adamson went scoreless for nearly three minutes in the fourth quarter, allowing Brig Santos to extend UST’s lead to 19, 71‑52, with a midrange jumper.
The defending champions never looked back from there, maintaining a comfortable cushion until the final buzzer.
“In today’s game, we didn’t really play the pace that we wanted, which is ‘yung pace na faster,” said UST head coach Haydee Ong. “We changed our defense in the second half, and I think ‘yung zone defense namin nagkaroon ng hard time ‘yung Adamson…but we’ll go back to the board, see our mistakes, and correct them.”
Standouts From This Game
Karylle Sierba led the defending champions with 20 points and 3 steals, while Danganan added 15 points and 4 rebounds. Agatha Bron also reached double figures with 13 points.
Cheska Apag paced Adamson with 19 points and 3 steals, while Elaine Etang finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Growling Tigresses will put their unbeaten record on the line against last season’s finalists, the NU Lady Bulldogs, on Saturday, October 10, at 10:00 a.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Meanwhile, the Lady Falcons will take on the UP Fighting Maroons on Wednesday, October 7, at 10:00 a.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
