IF there’s one school that knows how to bounce back after a Game One loss in the best-of-three championship series of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball, it’s University of Santo Tomas (UST).
Since the Final Four era began in 1993, the Growling Tigers have erased a 0-1 deficit in the final series and won it thrice in Seasons 57, 58 and 69.
They are now in the same situation in Season 78 after losing the series opener to Far Eastern University (FEU) on Wednesday, 64-75, as UST had a major collapse in the final quarter of the game.
Head Coach Bong de la Cruz admitted that his team was very down after the defeat, but he’s not losing hope and promises to come back on Saturday and tie the series.
“Of course we were sad, but it’s just for today [Wednesday] because we will have a game to play this Saturday,” said de la Cruz minutes after absorbing the 11-point loss to the Tamaraws.
“We need to learn from this loss and we have to move on quickly because we don’t have much time to recover,” the second-year mentor added.
The No. 1 seed Growling Tigers were poised to steal the game from FEU after trailing by as much as 14 points and even took a 62-61 lead with 5:55 remaining.
But the Tamaraws showcased their depth and finished the match with a 14-2 run.
Conspicuously missing in the scheme of things of UST in Game One was Ed Daquioag, who finished with just four points and the same number of turnovers.
De la Cruz is confident that a different Daquioag will appear in Game Two on Saturday.
“Ed will bounce back. I have confidence on him,” said de la Cruz of his 24-year-old graduating guard. “I still have my confidence on him. We are like family in this team. We just need to regroup and be happy.”
In Season 69, UST also lost in Game One against Ateneo de Manila, but won the next two games to win the crown during the first year of Pido Jarencio.
A win by the Growling Tigers in Game Two will force a do-or-die Game Three on Wednesday, also at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Letran Team Manager Ricky Paulino confirmed the report that Knights mentor Aldin Ayo is transferring to De La Salle next season.
“Unfortunately, it is confirmed that Aldin [Ayo] left Letran for La Salle,” Paulino posted on his Twitter account on Thursday.
Ayo reportedly met La Salle patron Danding Cojuangco on Wednesday night on a possible transfer to Taft Avenue, and the former visited Letran on Thursday morning to tell his decision to leave the Knights.
La Salle has yet to give any statement of Ayo’s appointment. Ayo will replace Juno Sauler at the helm.
Also, another coaching change is in the offing in the UAAP, this time at the Adamson University camp as there were reports that Franz Pumaren, a former La Salle bench tactician, is set to replace Mike Fermin for Season 79.
Pumaren led the Green Archers to five UAAP titles, including four straight from 1998 to 2001.