MANILA – University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs leaned on another strong showing from Mark Nonoy to score an 86-83 upset over Far Eastern University Baby Tamaraws on Sunday at the San Juan Arena.
The La Carlota, Negros Occidental native finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks for the Tiger Cubs.
John Bismark Lina added double-double 22 points and 18 boards.
The Tiger Cubs waxed hot early on three-point baskets from Nonoy for a 24-16 advantage.
The Baby Tamaraws came close in the second but a late surge from Nonoy propelled the Tiger Cubs to a 49-42 halftime edge.
The Tiger Cubs went on to lead by as much as 12 points in the second half after a triple by Nonoy and inside shots from Lina and Jomar Amador but the Baby Tamaraws clawed its way back to take a 69-68 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Tiger Cubs surged to an 80-73 advantage but the Baby Tamaraws had another run to force a deadlock at 83-all.
A jumper from Amador and a free throw by Vince Marzan proved to be the marginal points for the UST.
Royce Alforque tallied 26 points and seven rebounds, while RJ Abarrientos and Xyrus Torres had 16 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Baby Tamaraws, which dropped to 9-4 after the loss.
Meanwhile, the National University Bullpups clinched the top-seed heading into the playoffs round following a 106-55 rout on the cellar-dwelling University of the Philippines Integrated School.
Terrence Fortea returned from one-game suspension to finish with 23 points, on six triples, while Ilonggo Gerry Abadiano added 17 markers for the Bullpups, which tallied its 12th win in 13 games./PN
