Nic Cabañero explosion fuels UST closer to Final Four

UST Growling Tigers’ Nic Cabañero during a UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament game. -UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—As the Final Four race for the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament reaches a fever pitch, Nic Cabañero boosted UST’s hopes of climbing up the ladder.

The Growling Tigers defeated the University of the East, 76-67, and pushed them closer to their goal of reaching the Final Four behind the heroics of their offensive leader in Cabañero

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But instead of reveling in a new season-high, the sharpshooting guard immediately turned his attention to the Growling Tigers’ next outing amid the intense fight for the fourth seed.

SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 87 basketball

“We’ll just absorb this win and maybe tomorrow, we’ll focus on the next game right away,” said Cabañero in Filipino.

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“The race for the Final Four isn’t done yet. We have Adamson next. I know the coaching staff are doing they’re best so I know that they’re doing the right thing.”

Cabañero exploded with a game-high 27 points plus eight rebounds to go with it to push UST to a 6-7 record, keeping other teams at bay for now.

The former Tiger Cub standout shot efficiently from the field with a 50 percent shooting clip, missing just eight of his 16 tries from the field.

READ: UAAP: UST scores crucial win over UE, boosts Final Four bid

Helping out Cabañero on the offensive end was the tandem of Gelo Crisostomo and Christian Manaytay, who finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Now, it’s up to Cabañero and company to keep control of the third seed with Far Eastern University (5-8), Adamson (4-7) and National University (4-8) breathing down their necks.

“Our team is focused. I told them and they know from the start that this is the second round, it’s a different theme, everyone wants to move up and get the Final Four so I told them to just accept what we can get,” said coach Pido Jarencio in Filipino.

Up next for UST is Adamson on Saturday at San Juan Arena.