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Oliver De Guzman (with ball) was instrumental in UST's win, scoring 11 points off the bench.
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QUEZON CITY—University of Santo Tomas leaned on the endgame heroics of its role players to scrape past University of the Philippines, 83-77, in the UAAP Season LXXIX basketball tournament Saturday at the Big Dome.
Oliver De Guzman and Regie Boy Basibas came out in the clutch, instigating an 8-0 spurt to give the Growling Tigers its second victory in four games and bounce back from a disappointing 38-point setback to La Salle last Wednesday.
Coach Boy Sablan’s wards had to survive the Diliman-based squad’s late-game uprising from 10 points down to tie the ballgame at 71 on a Javier Gomez de Liaño three-ball.
Basibas then broke the deadlock with a triple, before De Guzman cashed in a jumper over Andrew Harris for a 76-71 UST lead, 2:19 remaining in the payoff period.
Team skipper Louie Vigil put the game out of hand with an inside incursion for an eight-point bubble, 79-71, with still 1:29 to go. UP failed to respond since then.
Vigil finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. The rookie De Guzman and sophomore Basibas each had 11 off the bench.
Kent Lao and Renzo Subido accounted for 10 points apiece.
The win was UST’s 19th straight against UP dating back to 2006, the year of the Tigers’ Cinderella run to the title.
Jett Manuel paced the Maroons with 19 points, Diego Dario added 14, and Javier Gomez de Liaño chipped in 12 markers.
UP remained winless in three outings.
The scores:
UST 83 — Vigil 18, Basibas 11, De Guzman 11, Lao 10, Subido 10, Faundo 6, Sheriff 6, Lee 6, Huang 4, Afoakwah 1, Macasaet 0.
UP 77 — Manuel 19, Dario 14, Gomez De Liaño 12, Desiderio 10, Webb 9, Romero 4, Harris 3, Espanola 3, Longa 2, Lao 1, Asilum 0, Prado 0, Jaboneta 0, Lim 0.
Quartersores: 15-11; 34-34; 59-53; 83-77.
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