MANILA – University of Santo Tomas (UST) clobbered Ateneo de Manila University, 80-68, to close the first round of the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament before a sold-out crowd at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion late Saturday night.
Nigerian center Akowe Collins led the Growling Tigers with 18 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and two assists as UST improved to 4-3 for solo third place.
University of the Philippines leads the standings at 5-2, followed by Far Eastern University and National University, both with 4-2 records.
UST took a 34-32 halftime lead before extending the gap to 49-32 behind Amiel Acido, Kirk Cañete and Mark Llemit.
Landyn Jumawan’s triple gave the Growling Tigers their biggest lead at 63-42 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Credits sa teammates ko na kumbaga naging disiplinado po sila na gawin ‘yung roles nila sa loob ng court. ‘Yun din ang naging boost namin kasi ‘yung energy at effort ng mga kasama namin sobrang taas (Credit goes to my teammates, who showed great discipline in fulfilling their respective roles on the court. That really gave us a boost, as the energy and effort they brought were exceptionally high),” Acido, who finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, said.
Llemit also scored 15 points, along with six rebounds, two steals and one block, while Koji Buenaflor contributed 11 points.
“Na-inspire din ang mga players, thank you sa support ng UST community. We needed that nung second half kasi dikit ‘yung first half (The players were inspired as well—thank you to the UST community for the support. We needed that in the second half, especially since the first half was a tight contest),” assistant coach Japs Cuana said.
“Very special to play for our school on our home court. We’re thankful for the support kasi practice pa lang namin nakikita na namin sila nakapila so ayaw din naman namin sayangin ‘yung effort nila na pumunta dito (It’s very special to play for our school on our home court. We’re grateful for the support—we could already see people lining up even while we were still practicing — so we didn’t want to let their effort in coming here go to waste),” he added.
Rookie Kieffer Alas paced Ateneo with 18 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Andrew Bongo added 13 points. The Blue Eagles dropped to 3-4 for fifth place.
De La Salle University and Adamson University are tied for fourth at 3-3. (Jean Malanum/PNA)
INSIDE THE PAINT. University of Santo Tomas center Collins Akowe (left) attempts a shot against Ateneo de Manila University’s Sultan Baruwa during their UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball game before a sold-out crowd at the Quadricentennial Pavilion on Saturday night (Oct. 17, 2026). Akowe led the Growling Tigers with 15 points, four blocks and two assists.
