MANILA – University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs ruled the 19-Under category of the RP Basketball League after a 60-47 victory over National University Nazareth School Bullpups in the Finals on Tuesday at the Xavier School-High School Gymnasium.
Miguel Jubilado and foreign student-athlete Ola Ajani spearhead the attack for the Tiger Cubs in the title match to be named as part of the 19-Under category’s Mythical Five.
Jhon Canapi, Dustin Bathan, Andwele Cabañero, and Gab Castro also made their presence felt for the Tiger Cubs, which was handled by assistant coach Noli Mejos in lieu of Manu Iñigo.
After a strong start, the Tiger Cubs found themselves trailing at 18-19 after the opening quarter before they went on a huge run in the second frame to establish a 36-28 advantage.
The Bullpups managed to close the gap to 32-36 at the onset of the third quarter, but the Tiger Cubs regained their offense behind Jubilado, Ajani, and Canapi to build a 48-41 separation.
The Tiger Cubs continued their run in the final quarter as the lead reached its largest at 12 points at 60-47 with under a minute remaining in the championship match.
“Our team here is a mixture of the UST team that competed in the UAAP Season 87 Junior High School tournament and some players from our Senior High School team,” said UST assistant team manager Kristina Maralit.
This was the Tiger Cubs second consecutive title after ending their 24-year championship drought in the UAAP Boys Basketball Tournament last week./PN
