The UST Growling Tigers may have been victims of Ateneo’s run to perfection after being swept in the UAAP season 82 men’s basketball finals on Wednesday, but it is hard to deny how far the program has gone within the first two years under current head coach Aldin Ayo. 

From a respectable 5-9 record in season 81, the dark horse Tigers made an unexpected leap this season which saw them go 8-6 in eliminations which was good enough for fourth seed. 

In the stepladder semis, they survived an FEU program that had one of the best defenses in the league, then proceeded to weather a twice to beat advantage from the UP Fighting Maroons that ultimately resulted in Renzo Subido immortalizing himself with a triple that sent the Tigers back to the Finals. 

Come the Finals, UST was ultimately swept by the near impenetrable Ateneo Blue Eagles, but not before they posted a scare to deny the defending champs’ attempt at perfection in Game 2. 

For Aldin Ayo however, a loss will be a loss, but this finals trip is a reminder of how UST’s program has grown under his care.

“I could say yes. Kasi syempre you always want to improve eh.” Ayo answered when asked if the program has indeed grown within his first two years in España,” during his press interview after the UST-Ateneo finals Game 2 Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“Last year we ended up sixth, this year, we made it to the Finals. Our mindset is even if we made it to the finals this season, ang dami pa namin kulang, ang dami pa namin dapat trabahuhin, and I will make sure na kung ano yung mga experiences namin sa finals, matuto kami and trabahuhin namin kung anong kulang sa amin.” he added. 

Prior to his current stint in UST, Ayo steered the Letran Knights to their first title in a decade back in 2015, and eventually snapped a two-year title drought for the De LaSalle Green Archers just a year later. 

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With a final score of 79-86, the UST Growling Tigers’ magical Season 82 run has come to an end at the hands of the 3-peat seeking Ateneo Blue Eagles as the UAAP season 82 men’s basketball tournament came to a close on Wednesday. 

And with that also came Renzo Subido’s career for the black and gold. 

Even if he may have ended his career short of a championship, the outgoing guard still cherishes how he was given an opportunity to finish his time playing  under the bright lights of a finals game.

“I’m just really blessed to be able to play in the finals again. Marami akong natutunan and it made me a better player, a better person.” Subido stated in an exclusive interview with TomasinoWeb.

“Wala, wala akong masabi eh, I’m just really blessed to be able to play in front of the UST community in the finals,” he added. 

And after capping off a roller-coaster of a season which saw the Tigers emerge into a dark horse Final Four contender Subido simply cherishes his time with the team as they clawed their way through to the big game. 

“This season wasn’t smooth naman eh. Every win we really had to prepare really hard for that. It wasn’t given to us in a silver platter so pinaghirapan namin yan and I’m just really blessed to be able to work everyday with my teammates,” he explained in an exclusive interview with TomasinoWeb.

Subido first came to UST back in 2014 as a blue-chip recruit from the De LaSalle Zobel Junior Archers and was tasked to fill the point guard void for the Tigers back then. 

Despite having a relatively low-profile career overall, Subido made headlines this season when he knocked down a huge triple against the UP Fighting Maroons that propelled UST back to the Finals after a four year drought. 

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Even as they were able to go hold their own against the defending champs, the UST Growling Tigers were swept by the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 79-86, in Game 2 of the best-of-three UAAP season 82 men’s basketball finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay Wednesday, Nov. 20. 

Just like the opening game, Ateneo got off to a fiery start and outscored the Tigers 31-18 within the first ten minutes of the contest. 

The second quarter saw a low scoring affair with UST jumping out to an 8-2 run that cut down the Blue Eagles’ once 13-point lead to seven. 

Even with the strong showing from the Tigers which included outscoring the defending champs 14-11 in the canto, Ateneo still managed to bring a 10 point lead into halftime, mainly due to the efforts of Pat Maagdenberg and the graduating Thirdy Ravena. 

Both teams came alive in the third quarter, with UST posting 30 points and Ateneo with 25, which saw UST and Ateneo going mano y mano on the offensive end. 

UST was able to get as close as one point to open the fourth quarter corteousy of team captain CJ Cansino before a quick 5-0 spurt from Thirdy Ravena and SJ Belangel re-extended the lead to four. 

After a slow scoring affair throughout the duration of the quarter, the Tigers were once again able to get as close as four points with over a minute to play after a Sherwin Concepcion triple brought the game to 71-75. 

However, as UST was inching close to a comeback, Thirdy Ravena and Ange Kouame combined forces to quickly unleash a huge 8-0 blast that iced the game and secured the championship for them. 

Thirdy Ravena once again led Ateneo with 17 points and seven rebounds in his swan song. SJ Belangel on the other hand chipped in 15 points built on five triples. 

Outgoing team captain Matt Nieto had an efficient final game as well with 14 points on a 60% shooting clip, complemented by six rebounds and five assists. 

For the Tigers, Rhenz Abando had a 16-point effort, with nine of them coming in the Tigers’ high scoring third quarter. Rookie of the Year Mark Nonoy poured in 14 points to complement Abando’s performance, while MVP Soulemane Chabi Yo had a double-double of 11 points and 19 boards.

With the win, Ateneo now caps off their dream season by becoming the first team in UAAP men’s basketball to complete a 16-0 sweep.

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