MANILA, Philippines – Although the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling 
Tigers pulled off an impressive win over University of the East, head coach Aldin Ayo remains worried as the Tigers may have to do without leading scorer Renzo Subido in the final stretch of the UAAP tournament.

Ayo said Subido – who has been playing with an ankle brace on one leg since the start of the season – might have sustained a stress fracture on his other leg. 

“After our practice last Friday, wala namang nangyari, biglang namaga, biglang hindi na makalakad. He’s going to have his MRI tomorrow. Pero yung initial na diagnosis ng PT (physical therapist)namin, sana wag naman pero parang stress fracture,” shared the UST mentor to reporters during the post-game press conference on Sunday, October 28. 

(After our practice last Friday, nothing happened but his leg suddenly swelled up and he cannot walk. He’s going to have his MRI tomorrow, but the initial diagnosis of our physical therapist was stress fracture. Hopefully that’s not the case.) 

But with the absence of Subido, starting point guard Marvin Lee stepped up big time for his teammate as he dropped a career-high 30 points, 24 coming from beyond the arc.

The feat made Lee as the first UST player in 3 years to record 30 points since Ed Daquiaog tallied a 34-point outing. He’s also the first from España to shoot 8 triples since Jeric Fortuna did the same 8 years ago. 

Super rookie CJ Cansino, on the other hand, became the first rookie in the UAAP to record a triple-double with a 20-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist stat line 

“Lahat naman kami affected [na nawala si Renzo] kasi isa siya sa mga scoring player namin. Iyon nga, biglang sabi ni coach sa amin na sana may magstep up, parang lahat kami, iyon ‘yung iniisip namin,” said Lee. 

(We’re all affected by the loss of Renzo because he’s one of our scoring players. Coach then hoped that someone among us would step up, but then all of us thought about doing that.) 

Ayo praised the veteran playmaker for all the extra work he did, which paid off on Sunday’s game. 

“Before magstart yung regular practice namin, naka-500 shots na siya everyday so ano man ginawa ni Marvin [ngayon], siya gumawa nun. On our part, ginaguide lang namin,” shared Ayo.

(Before our regular practice starts, he has already made 500 shots so whatever Marvin did today, he made that happen. On our part, we just guide him.)

Acccording to Lee, he’s not exactly sure if he makes 500 shots per practice, but he’s certain that he’s extremely motivated by his new mentor. 

“Gusto ko na sinasabi ni coach lagi sa akin na wag ako ma-bored kung ano ginagawa ko. Ineenjoy ko lang ginagawa ko. Sinunod ko lang yung ginagawa ko everyday,” said Lee. 

(I like that coach always tells me not to get bored with what I do. I should just enjoy what I’m doing. I would just follow what I would do everyday.) – Rappler.com