MANILA, Philippines – Karim Abdul exited the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, August 12, as a serious contender for the league’s Most Valuable Player award after his University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers crushed the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 85-69.
Despite the absence of swingman Jeric Teng, the Tigers roared out of the starting blocks with guns blazing, building a quick 9-2 lead via the spirited play of Louie Vigil and Kim Lo.
UE’s JR Sumido, however, was not one to take a beating sitting down. A dead-eye shooter in his own right, Sumido answered with an 8-point flurry, including two triples from the elbow to bring UE within 4, 15-11, by the end of the first.
Try as they might, the Warriors were simply outmatched and outclassed once Coach Pido Jarencio’s boys got into their groove.
With Jeric Fortuna at the helm, the UST role players caught fire. In particular, Ed Daquioag and Vigil lit up the scoreboard with 6 and 5 points, respectively. All in all, the Warriors were outscored 26 to 12 in the second quarter to fall behind 41-23 at the half.
After giving up 12 fastbreak points to UST—and none on their side to show for—Roi Sumang and his Warriors went on a run of their own. The lead was cut down to 13 at 47-34, thanks to Sumang’s penetration and Adrian Santos’ ability to finish under the basket.
To clog up the driving lanes, Jarencio employed a zone on defense and immediately, the UE offense was stymied.
Former UAAP Juniors MVP Kevin Ferrer kept the Warriors at bay by scoring 11 points in the quarter, 9 of which came from beyond the arc. After 30 minutes of play, the Tigers were up comfortably, 60-43.
He had been producing in a relatively quiet manner all game, but it was in the fourth period when Abdul would stamp his dominance.
With ample heft and a certain craftiness around the ring, the Cameroonian big man had his way with the UE frontline. What little hope the Warriors had left was snuffed out by Abdul’s relentless rebounding and near-perfect aim close to the basket.
Abdul paced the 4-1 Tigers with 20 points, 19 boards and two blocks while Ferrer chipped in with 16. Connecting on 5 three-pointers, Sumido had a career-high 20 points in the loss for the Warriors. – Rappler.com
Quarter scores: 15-11, 41-23, 60-43, 85-69
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