The UST Growling Tigers regained their winning ways during the past two games to get themselves in the thick of the UAAP Season 88 Final Four race.
The UST Growling Tigers needed to dig deep and then some to help themselves out of a four-game slump that nearly saw their Final Four hopes dwindle despite a strong start in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
After a 5-1 start to the season, UST endured a rough patch in between the first and second rounds where they lost four straight games — some of which were arguably winnable.
But now, having rediscovered their ways with back-to-back wins at the expense of the UE Red Warriors and the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the Growling Tigers are back in control of their own fate. At 7-5, the Growling Tigers are sitting comfortably at the no. 4 spot.
[READ: UST nips Ateneo to cling to solo fourth in UAAP men’s standings]
Still, it wasn’t anything easy for UST to be able to recover the way that they did.
Being one of UST’s co-captains along with Nic Cabañero, Forthsky Padrigao said they needed to be willing to work on themselves and acknowledge what was wrong.
Thankfully for him, the team was more than willing to do the dirty work.
“Well, I mean, it's open kasi sa aming mga players yung pinagdaanan namin. We know yung adversity na pinagdaanan namin,” Padrigao said, finishing with a crucial six points in UST’s win over Ateneo.
“And I think na talagang we just talk through it.”
After their recent loss to the UP Fighting Maroons, which came only by a point, the Growling Tigers were able to work themselves out.
A bigger purpose
At the end of the day, Padrigao did acknowledge that not everyone had completely subscribed from the get-go to UST’s bid for a bounce back.
But it was a matter of reminding themselves who they were playing for.
More than just playing for each other, they were also eager to give their best for the sake of the community — especially with UST as the season hosts.
If their last two games are anything to base off of, the mindset does seem to be working.
“Magkakaiba kami ng headspace during that time. 'Yung iba gusto lang determinado lang bumawi. Yung iba talagang na-down kasi nga saan nangyari. But then, yun nga, we just talk things through. And then, yun yung pag-usapan namin na we have a bigger purpose here, not just for ourselves,” said Padrigao.
“And I think it showed nung past two games namin. Not perfect though, but still. Nandun naman yung effort namin lang,” he added.
The effort doesn’t stop here for UST, though, as they still have two more games remaining in elimination.
With their spot in the Final Four still not assured, there will be more to prove for the Growling Tigers in the coming days.
UST’s next assignment comes in the form of the NU Bulldogs on Sunday, November 23, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.