A nine-point cushion nearly slipped away entirely, but the UST Growling Tigers found enough late free throws to hold off defending champion La Salle Green Archers, 80-75, and notch its first win of the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Amiel Acido came up with the clutch free throws that ultimately sealed it, finishing with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Collins Akowe backed him up with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, while also hitting a crucial basket inside in the waning seconds.
La Salle had trailed by as many as 13 points but refused to fade, clawing all the way back to tie the game at 56-all in the third quarter. UST answered with a 7-1 run, capped by a Kirk Canete layup, to retake a 63-57 lead with 9:42 remaining, then gradually built that advantage to 72-63 after an Akowe basket with 5:23 left.
La Salle Makes a Run, UST Answers Again
That’s when La Salle showed why it’s the defending champion. Free throws from Jacob Cortez and Luis Pablo cut the deficit to just two, 70-72, with 3:21 to go. Mark Llemit answered immediately with a bank shot to push UST’s lead back to four, 74-70, but a series of Tigers misses and turnovers kept the door open. JC Macalalag walked through it with a clutch corner three at the 1:27 mark.
Back-to-back turnovers from Akowe and Cortez down the stretch kept things tense, but Akowe steadied UST with a layup at the 25.2-second mark to push the lead back to three, 76-73. La Salle’s final attempt missed, and Acido closed it out from the free-throw line.
Landyn Jumawan added 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals for UST, while Charles Esteban provided a spark off the bench with 9 points. Vhoris Marasigan led La Salle with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, with Cortez and Earl Abadam each scoring 13, and Pablo and Macalalag adding 10 apiece.
Both teams now sit at 1-1 through two games.
