UST DOMINATES ADAMSON, STAYS PERFECT

By: Miguel Marco

The Strong Group-backed University of Santo Tomas surged in the third quarter to pull away from the Adamson Lady Falcons in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Growling Tigresses remained perfect with a 6-0 record, while Adamson fell to 2-4.

Karylle Sierba led UST with 16 points, while Eka Soriano and Oma Onianwa contributed 13 points each.

"During the third quarter 'yung mga bata nagising na," UST head coach Haydee Ong said after the game. "We were crashing the boards and limited Adamson to 11 points in both the third and fourth quarters, so that spells the difference between the first and second half."

Adamson started strong with a 17-7 run, capped by Kat Agojo's basket, but UST responded with a 7-2 spurt before Sierba’s tough shot cut the deficit to six, 22-16.

The Lady Falcons managed to hold UST at bay as Angela Alaba scored inside the paint to give Adamson a five-point halftime lead, 33-28.

UST turned the tide in the third quarter as Ambos scored on a fastbreak to grab the lead, 38-37. The Tigresses then ignited a 22-7 run behind Sierba, Soriano, and Onianwa to take a commanding 60-44 advantage entering the fourth.

From there, it was all UST, outscoring the Lady Falcons 19-11 in the final period to seal a convincing 79-55 victory.

The Growling Tigresses will aim to complete a first-round sweep when they face the University of the Philippines on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 2:00 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.