UST’s Brigette Santos and Karylle Sierba deliver under high stakes as the Growling Tigresses force a crucial Game 3 against the NU Lady Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball finals.
With their title defense on the line, the UST Growling Tigresses drew big games from Brigette Santos and Karylle Sierba to force a do-or-die Game 3 against the NU Lady Bulldogs Wednesday in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball finals.
Third-year guard Santos led the Tigresses with a career-best 27 points, accompanied by two boards and four assists in their 78-68 Game 2 win over NU at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Santos, a UST High product, drew confidence from head coach Haydee Ong’s unwavering faith in her en route to the career-best performance.
“Every training kasi naiiyak na ako na si Coach Haydee lagi ako pinapagalitan,” an emotional Santos shared during the post-game press conference. “Naiisip ko ‘Bakit lagi ba ako pinapagalitan!’. Sinasabi nya sakin [Coach Haydee] na ‘Onse! [Santos’ jersey number 11] Wala ka nanaman sa focus!’”
Fourteen of Santos’ 27 came in a back-and-forth second half, where the Tigresses averted disaster against a redemption-seeking NU core.
“Pag ganon, naiiyak na ako kasi nasa focus naman ako. So ‘yun, dun ko nahugot ‘yung lakas ng loob ko na makipagsabayan sa kanila [NU]. Hindi talaga siya [Coach Haydee] tumigil na maniwala sakin, kumbaga sa sarili ko ako na lang ‘yung hinihintay nila eh. So eto, sa tingin ko, eto na ‘yung chance ko na makacontribute talaga,” she said.
Rookie Sierba, meanwhile, tied her career-best 18 points on Wednesday, which was headlined by a 15-point explosion in the fourth quarter. Sierba’s fourth quarter tear also proved to be the Tigresses’ much-needed boost to pull way from the Jhocson-based side.
It’s even more impressive given that Sierba only needed 12 minutes and 30 seconds of play to notch her 18 points. For her, it was a matter of stepping up as star seniors Kent Pastrana, Tacky Tacatac, and Eka Soriano were being clamped down by the Lady Bulldogs.
“Kumpyansa lang po talaga kasi ‘yung mga ates ko, sobrang dinidikitan na po sila. So parang naisip ko po na parang hindi sila nakafocus [NU] sakin. So ito ‘yung time na para maipakita ko ‘yung skills ko, na kaya kong maipakita ‘yung skills ko, na kaya kong makipagtapatan sa kanila,” she reflected.
Least surprised
For her part, Ong was least surprised about her wards’ big games, especially with Brigette Santos. After all, she’s well aware of the guard’s caliber, having seen her potential since entering the Tigresses’ den in 2022.
“Very happy ako…throughout the season hindi ko pa nakita ‘yung full potential niya talaga. Brigette came in sakin…alam ko na she’s very athletic, mataas tumalon, may three-point shot. Parang kumpleto talaga eh. Kumbaga, parang nahihiya pag naglalaro,” Ong shared. “But today, pinakita niya sakin na [sabi nya] ‘Coach, tama ‘yung sinasabi mo na unstoppable ako ngayon.”
Like Santos before her, Karylle Sierba was a big recruit coming out of UST High for Season 87, and was the Tigresses’ third-leading scorer in eliminations. In about 19 minutes played per game, Sierba averaged 9.71 points along with 4.07 rebounds behind seniors Pastrana and Tacatac.
Sierba also alternated between the UST bench and the starting five, but found her ways to shine throughout Season 87.
“Sabi ko nga kay Karylle, you will be playing limited minutes. Pero every time bubunutin kita, just make sure na you represent UST very well at pakita mo kung bakit ka nandito sa UST, bakit ka produkto ng UST, and napakagaling talaga, napapawow ako kay Karylle,” said Ong.
UST also denied NU a perfect 16-0 season thanks to Brigette Santos and Karylle Sierba’s big games. Now, all that’s left is to finish the job in Game 3 scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.