By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Kent Pastrana and Gelo Crisostomo delivered clutch performances in contrasting fashion to lead the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to twin statement victories over Ateneo de Manila University, earning recognition as the UAAP Players of the Week.

Pastrana spearheaded the UST Growling Tigresses’ 77-66 win that snapped Ateneo’s unbeaten run while preserving their own perfect record in the UAAP Season 88 women’s basketball tournament.

The senior guard took over in the third quarter, firing 28 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, especially stepping up after Oma Onianwa was sidelined by foul trouble.

“Hindi lang talaga kami bumitaw, at pinakita namin ‘yung puso namin sa court,” said Pastrana, whose leadership and scoring outburst helped the Tigresses improve to 4-0.

The Negros Occidental’s Silay City native’s stellar outing earned her the nod over fellow UST standout Brigette Santos, National University’s (NU) Tine Cayabyab and Karl Pingol, Far Eastern University’s Shemaiah Abatayo, and Adamson University’s Cheska Apag.

On the men’s side, Crisostomo was equally pivotal for the UST Growling Tigers, anchoring both offense and defense in a historic 98-89 triple-overtime victory against the Blue Eagles — the first triple-overtime game in the UAAP men’s basketball Final 4 era.

The 6-foot-5 forward posted a career-best 18 points and 17 rebounds, alongside four assists and a block, as he powered the Pido Jarencio-coached squad to a 4-1 record, good for solo second.

“Last few games, pangit ‘yung laro ko. Pero tinulungan lang ako ng teammates ko na mag-focus,” Crisostomo shared, after outshining teammates Nic Cabañero and Collins Akowe, University of the Philippines’ Noy Remogat and Harold Alarcon, and NU’s Jake Figueroa for the weekly honor.

As the league returned to the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym for the first time in nearly two decades, Pastrana and Crisostomo rose to the occasion — embodying UST’s renewed grit and pride on both fronts./ASC, WDJ