Xavier Trounces Tiger Cubs in Passerelle Quarters

With the championship hopes of Xavier in the balance, Isaac Go grabs his own miss, goes up strong and makes a putback. That basket was the turning point of the game when Xavier, after trailing as much as 8 points tied the game and never looked back as it trounced a pesky UST squad, 58-44.

Xavier’s 1^st quarter unit drew first blood after a split from the charity stripe by Jacob Ejercito and afterwards, they couldn’t seem to buy a basket both inside and outside. The Tiger Cubs, despite committing numerous turnovers, managed to score and break the Stallions daunting man-to-man press and even a variety of its zone presses.

During the 2^nd quarter, the Golden Stallions tried to capitalize on UST’s 4-man team since one of the players was injured but Alaska Jr. NBA Youth Ambassador Jarrell Lim struggled immensely as he just arrived from Hong Kong the morning of the game. This did not stop him from contributing, as he became a facilitator finishing with a game-high, 5 assists. Freshman Center Aldrich Tan was the recipient of most of Lim’s passes and was a revelation inside the paint scoring a game-high 15 points in an impressive 7 of 10 shooting from the field.  Despite the lack of players on the opposing side and the Lim-Tan inside-out combination, the Tiger Cubs still led 21-28 in halftime.

After an encouraging message from Head Coach Owen Oliva during the short halftime break, the shock troopers of Coach O responded with a 15-0 run to start the quarter and finally grab their first taste of the lead ever since the opening tip. RP Youth U-16 mainstay, Isaac Go was a beast on both ends of the court as he finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and a game-high 4 blocks despite staying on the opposite end of the court for most of the game. Point Guard Anton Lapez controlled the tempo of the game finding his teammates for quality shots but when it was necessary, he was willing to score, finishing with 8 points. The Stallions limited UST to just 4 points in this quarter and their defense changed the complexion of the game.

The final canto was a slugfest with both teams exchanging baskets and verbal jabs. The Stallions didn’t allow their UST counterparts to tick them off their game and they continued the relentless attack.

The Stallions continue their defense of the Passerelle crown as they will take on most probably La Salle Greenhills next week in the Semi-Finals. Bad blood is expected from both teams as La Salle eliminated Xavier two of the last three years and Xavier demolished the Green Archers last year en-route to their second Passerelle crown in 4 years.