By ADRIAN STEWART CO
University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Cubs overcame a slow start to score an 85-80 triumph over Adamson University Baby Falcons in the finals of the 2023 Ballout Sports Inter-Secondary Champions Challenge at the Marikina Sports Center on Sunday night, July 2.
Recine Kane tallied double-double 23 points and 13 rebounds to go with three steals and two blocks as the Tiger Cubs took home their first-ever championship under head coach Manu Inigo.
Andrei Dungo chipped in 16 markers, including two triples, to go with six rebounds and five assists, while Jhon Benedict Lim contributed 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals for UST.
Down by as much as 12 points in the opening half, the Tiger Cubs slowly clawed their way back in the third quarter behind inside conversions from Kane and Dungo to cut the deficit to 62-64.
The Tiger Cubs continued their run in the fourth period with attacks from Lim and Dungo to finally take the lead at 70-69 before widening it further to 77-69 via a driving basket from Dungo.
The Baby Falcons countered with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 75-77, but an inside conversion from Koji Buenaflor, a layup by Lim and another conversion from Buenaflor widened the Tiger Cubs’ lead anew to 83-76.
However, Adamson made their last push as they threatened to within 80-83 with less than a minute left in the contest, but two free throws from Dungo secured the win and the championship for UST.
John Earl Medina top-scored for the Baby Falcons with 22 points, including six triples, Mark Esperanza added 15 markers, while Justin Garcia and Mark Canopio contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
It was a perfect run for the Tiger Cubs as they won all of their elimination round matches against Far Eastern University Baby Tamaraws (77-69), Ateneo de Davao University (91-70) and San Beda University Red Cubs (84-51).
The Tiger Cubs reached the championship round after pulling off a come-from-behind 87-85 overtime victory against NCAA juniors basketball champions Letran Squires in the semis.
UST 85 — Kane 23, Dungo 16, Lim 13, Reyes 8, Zanoria 7, Pangilinan 5, Buenaflor 5, Ayon 4, Ronquillo 2, Esteban 2, Manding 0, Loreto 0.
ADAMSON 80 — Medina 22, Esperanza 15, Garcia 12, Canopio 10, De Jesus 6, Abayon 5, Bonzalida 3, Sahili 3, Carillo 3, Tumabang 1, Magcale 0.
Quarterscores: 17-24, 40-46, 62-64, 85-80./ASC, WDJ