2008 UST Growling Tigers basketball team

2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball
2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball
Record
Elims rank	#5
Final rank	#5
2008 record	6–8
Head coach	Pido Jarencio (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Senen Dueñas; Beaujing Acot
Captain	Francis Allera (5th season)
	Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team represented University of Santo Tomas in the 71st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2008-09 began on July 5, 2008 and the host school for the season was the University of the Philippines who were celebrating their centennial year.^[1]

UST finished fifth at the end of the double round-robin eliminations. They won six games against eight losses. Two of their games went into overtime. The first was an 86–80 win over the Adamson Falcons in the first round, and the other was a 69–74 loss to the FEU Tamaraws in the second round.

The Tigers' second round losses to FEU and to the De La Salle Green Archers meant that they needed to win their last two games to at least tie the UE Red Warriors to gain a playoff for the fourth and final seed heading into the Final Four. They were fifth in the standings at 5 wins and 7 losses, while UE was fourth with a 7–5 record. They were also hoping for the Red Warriors to lose their remaining two games for a playoff to happen.

The game resulted to a two-point loss for UST. The Tigers had struggled throughout the game with errors and inconsistencies. Their opponent had led by 22 points at the end of three quarters. Head coach Pido Jarencio got ejected, but in a display of grit and determination, UST fought back and chipped away at UE's lead, resulting to a 24–1 run. The Tigers who got eliminated ended up scoring 35 points in the fourth quarter.^[2]

Season 70 MVP Jervy Cruz was included in the Mythical team selection during the presentation of awards for Season 71. He had played the entire season while nursing a hamstring injury and even led the MVP race at the end of the eliminations with 75.1 statistical points, on top of a double-double average of 19.8 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. He has led the league in rebounds since his first playing year in 2006. The MVP award eventually went to Ateneo's Rabeh Al-Hussaini who was second in running with 71.1 statistical points.^[3]

The Growling Tigers was the season's top rebounding team with a 48.4 per game average.

Roster

UST Growling Tigers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Year	High School
SG	5	Clark Daniel Oliver Bautista	5'9" (1.75m)	1st	Benedictine International School
SF	6	Dylan Simon Ababou	6'3" (1.91m)	4th	Siena College of Quezon City
C	7	Mark Angelo Canlas	6'5" (1.96m)	4th	Don Bosco Academy, Pampanga
PG	8	Emilian Vargas	5'11" (1.8m)	2nd	–
PF	9	Melchor Gile	6'4" (1.93m)	4th	–
PG	10	Jeric Marco Fortuna	5'7" (1.7m)	1st	De La Salle Santiago Zobel School
PF	11	Carmelo Afuang	6'4" (1.93m)	1st	San Beda College–Rizal
PF	12	Christopher Camus	6'4" (1.93m)	2nd	Sunny Hills High School
SF	14	Khasim Ali Mirza	6'4" (1.93m)	4th	La Salle College Antipolo
SG	16	Franciz Philip Allera (C)	6'3" (1.91m)	5th	Dole Philippines School
C	17	Chester Lloyd Taylor	6'4" (1.93m)	5th	Colegio San Agustin – Makati
PG	18	John Paul Cuan	5'7" (1.7m)	5th	University of Santo Tomas
SG	19	Carlos Amador Fenequito	6'0" (1.83m)	3rd	–
C	20	Jervy Cruz	6'4" (1.93m)	5th	Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College
PG	21	Jackson Wong	5'10" (1.78m)	1st	Philippine Academy of Sakya-Manila
PF	22	Allein Gail Maliksi	6'4" (1.93m)	3rd	Camarin High School

Head coach

Alfredo Jarencio

Assistant coach(es)

Rhuel Acot
Senen Dueñas
Julian Rabbi Tomacruz
Rodil Sablan

Strength & conditioning coach(es)

Emmanuel Calipes
Edwin Escobar

Team manager

Clarence Aytona
Timmy Chong
Rudy Yu

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Cruz	Taylor	Camus
PF	Canlas	Gile	Afuang
SF	Ababou	Mirza
SG	Allera	Bautista	Fenequito
PG	Cuan	Fortuna	Vargas

Roster changes

The Growling Tigers have lost three of their veterans in center June Dizon, point guards Jun Cortez and Rum Perry Scott, and team captain Anthony Espiritu to graduation and are parading eight new players composed of rookies, transferees and players from the Team B training pool.^[4]

Subtractions

Pos.	No.	Player	Height	Year	High school	Notes
SG	5	John Hector Badua	5' 11"	2nd	University of Santo Tomas	Transferred to José Rizal University
SF	8	Anthony Espiritu	6' 4"	5th	University of Santo Tomas	Graduated
PF	10	June Dizon	6' 4"	5th	San Sebastian College-Recoletos	Graduated
SG	11	John Darryl Basa	6' 1"	2nd	University of Santo Tomas	Relegated to Team B
PG	12	Jose Cortez, Jr.	5' 10"	5th	University of Santo Tomas	Graduated
C	19	Francis Soriano	6' 6"	4th
PG	21	Rum Perry Scott	5' 9"	5th	St. Joseph School	Graduated

Additions

Pos.	No.	Player	Height	Year	High school	Notes
SG	5	Clark Daniel Oliver Bautista	5' 9"	1st	Benedictine International School	Promoted from Team B
PG	8	Emilian Vargas	5' 11"	2nd		Transferred from Emilio Aguinaldo College
PG	10	Jeric Marco Fortuna	5' 7"	1st	De La Salle Santiago Zobel School	Rookie
PF	11	Carmelo Afuang	6' 4"	1st	San Beda College–Rizal	Promoted from Team B
PF	12	Christopher Camus	6' 4"	2nd	Sunny Hills High School	Transferred from San Beda College
SG	19	Carlos Amador Fenequito	6' 0"	3rd		Transferred from José Rizal University
PG	21	Jackson Wong	5' 10"	1st	Philippine Academy of Sakya-Manila	Rookie
PF	22	Allein Gail Maliksi	6' 4"	3rd	Camarin High School	Transferred from University of Manila

Injuries

The Growling Tigers did not join any major preseason games on two reasons: their veteran players had been busy playing for their commercial teams in the Philippine Basketball League in the summer; and eight of their players suffered various injures before and during the UAAP tournament.^[5]

Jervy Cruz played in all 14 UAAP games while nursing a pulled hamstring which he incurred while playing for the Hapee Fresh Fighters in an out-of-town game in May.^[6]
Dylan Ababou fractured his right hand while playing for the Harbour Centre Batang Pier. He was healed in time for the opening of the season and played in all of UST's games.
Khasim Mirza suffered a broken foot and was also hospitalized before the start of the season due to an improper diet. He missed three games in the first round of eliminations.
Japs Cuan, in only the third game of the Tigers suffered a torn meniscus on his knee which required surgery. He was able to return in the second round while playing limited minutes.^[7]
Allein Maliksi had an ACL injury and was only able to play in one game against the NU Bulldogs in the first round of eliminations.
Chester Taylor and Francis Allera had sprained knees during their summer training, while rookie Jeric Fortuna suffered from flu during the season.
Other players who missed games were Mel Gile, Chris Camus, Milan Vargas, and Khasim Mirza. They were all given suspensions by the coaching staff during their first-round game against the Adamson Falcons.

Schedule and results

UAAP games

Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on Studio 23 and Balls.

UAAP Season 71 game log

Elimination round: 6–8
Game	Date • Time	Opponent	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location
1	Jul 5 • 4:00 pm	UE Red Warriors	L 73–78	0–1	Cruz (26)	Cruz (22)	Cuan (6)	Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
2	Jul 12 • 2:00 pm	UP Fighting Maroons	W 94–75	1–1	Ababou (20)	Cuan (9)	Cuan (7)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
3	Jul 17 • 4:00 pm	De La Salle Green Archers	L 84–85	1–2	Ababou (23)	Cruz (11)	Cuan (6)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
4	Jul 20 • 4:00 pm	FEU Tamaraws	L 65–70	1–3	Allera (20)	Allera (8)	Fortuna (4)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
5	Jul 27 • 4:00 pm	Adamson Soaring Falcons	W 86–80^OT	2–3	Ababou (26)	Ababou (13)	Bautista (3)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
6	Jul 31 • 2:00 pm	NU Bulldogs	W 88–77	3–3	Bautista (18)	Cruz (10)	Canlas (4)	Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
7	Aug 3 • 4:00 pm	Ateneo Blue Eagles End of R1 of eliminations	L 57–64	3–4	Ababou (15)	Cruz (15)	Bautista (3)	Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
8	Aug 9 • 2:00 pm	Adamson Falcons	W 97–83	4–4	Cruz (29)	Cruz (15)	Fortuna (5)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
9	Aug 14 • 4:00 pm	Ateneo Blue Eagles	L 76–85	4–5	Cruz (23)	Cruz (18)	Fortuna (4)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
10	Aug 17 • 4:00 pm	FEU Tamaraws	L 69–74^OT	4–6	Cruz (30)	Cruz (13)	Fortuna (4)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
11	Aug 23 • 2:00 pm	NU Bulldogs	W 68–58	5–6	Allera (14)	Cruz (10)	Cuan (4)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
12	Aug 28 • 4:00 pm	De La Salle Green Archers	L 79–81	5–7	Cruz (28)	Cruz (20)	Tied (3)	Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
13	Aug 31 • 4:00 pm	UE Red Warriors	L 87–89	5–8	Cruz (21)	Cruz (23)	Cuan (4)	PhilSports Arena Pasig
14	Sep 6 • 2:00 pm	UP Fighting Maroons End of R2 of eliminations	W 71–63	6–8	Cruz (21)	Cruz (18)	Tied (3)	Araneta Coliseum Quezon City

(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in UTC+08:00.
Source: inboundPASS

Postseason tournament

Postseason game log

2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship: 4–1
Game	Date • Time	Opponent	Result	Record	High points	Location
1	Oct 15 • 12:00 pm	St. Clare College Saints Wildcard qualifying round	W 80–71	1–0	Allera (22)	Makati Coliseum Makati
2	Oct 16 • 1:30 pm	SFAC Doves Wildcard qualifying round	W 64–51	2–0	Ababou (30)	Makati Coliseum Makati
3	Oct 17 • 1:30 pm	LPC Blue Lions Wildcard qualifying round	W 69–66	3–0	Ababou (24)	Makati Coliseum Makati
4	Nov 4 • 1:30 pm	SLU Navigators Zonal championships	W 102–52	4–0	Tied (11)	Makati Coliseum Makati
5	Nov 6 • 3:00 pm	Arellano Chiefs Zonal championships	L 59–69	4–1	Ababou (22)	Makati Coliseum Makati

(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in UTC+08:00.

UAAP statistics

Template:UAAP roster statistics start |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Jervy Cruz || 14 || || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|32.5 || 103 || 188 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|54.8% || 0 || 0 || 0.0% || 71 || 95 || 74.7% || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|13.7 || 0.9 || 0.4 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|0.9 || 2.4 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|19.8 |- | Dylan Ababou || 14 || || 28.2 || 74 || 163 || 45.4% || 14 || 53 || 26.4% || 58 || 80 || 72.5% || 6.6 || 1.1 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 3.1 || 15.3 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Francis Allera || 14 || || 23.4 || 52 || 139 || 37.4% || 22 || 78 || 28.2% || 13 || 17 || 76.5% || 5.6 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 1.9 || 9.9 |- | Tata Bautista || 14 || || 15.6 || 31 || 98 || 31.6% || 25 || 82 || 30.5% || 10 || 14 || 71.4% || 1.4 || 1.1 || 0.1 || 0.0 || 1.5 || 6.9 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Khasim Mirza || 11 || || 16.5 || 23 || 74 || 31.1% || 12 || 41 || 29.3% || 13 || 19 || 68.4% || 4.0 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 1.6 || 6.5 |- | Badong Canlas || 14 || || 21.4 || 32 || 93 || 34.4% || 0 || 1 || 0.0% || 23 || 41 || 56.1% || 4.8 || 1.3 || 0.2 || 0.3 || 1.7 || 6.2 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Japs Cuan || 10 || || 20.3 || 14 || 31 || 45.2% || 1 || 6 || 16.7% || 9 || 20 || 45.0% || 3.8 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|4.0 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 1.7 || 3.8 |- | Jeric Fortuna || 14 || || 15.9 || 15 || 56 || 26.8% || 7 || 23 || 30.4% || 15 || 24 || 62.5% || 1.7 || 1.7 || 0.7 || 0.0 || 1.9 || 3.7 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Allein Maliksi || 1 || || 5.0 || 1 || 3 || 33.3% || 1 || 1 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|100.0% || 0 || 0 || 0.0% || 0.0 || 0.0 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 |- | Chris Camus || 12 || || 8.1 || 14 || 40 || 35.0% || 1 || 11 || 9.1% || 3 || 4 || 75.0% || 1.9 || 0.3 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|1.0 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 2.7 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Chester Taylor || 14 || || 11.2 || 14 || 42 || 33.3% || 0 || 2 || 0.0% || 2 || 2 || style=background-color:#FCBF15;color:#231F20;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #231F20, inset -2px -2px 0 #231F20;|100.0% || 2.2 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 0.3 || 2.7 |- | Milan Vargas || 7 || || 6.1 || 6 || 14 || 42.9% || 0 || 1 || 0.0% || 1 || 5 || 20.0% || 0.9 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.6 || 2.0 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Mel Gile || 11 || || 10.2 || 6 || 18 || 33.3% || 1 || 5 || 20.0% || 5 || 10 || 50.0% || 3.3 || 0.9 || 0.1 || 0.4 || 0.8 || 1.6 |- | Carlos Fenequito || 14 || || 8.0 || 6 || 19 || 31.6% || 2 || 7 || 28.6% || 5 || 6 || 83.3% || 1.6 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 0.5 || 1.4 |- bgcolor=#ffffdd | Melo Afuang || 5 || || 1.8 || 0 || 3 || 0.0% || 0 || 0 || 0.0% || 2 || 4 || 50.0% || 0.6 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.4 |- | Jackson Wong || 3 || || 1.3 || 0 || 0 || 0.0% || 0 || 0 || 0.0% || 1 || 2 || 50.0% || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.3 |- class=sortbottom ! Total || 14 || || 40.7 || 391 || 982 || 39.8% || 81 || 296 || 27.4% || 231 || 343 || 67.3% || 48.4 || 12.9 || 4.0 || 2.8 || 17.2 || 78.1 |- class=sortbottom ! Opponents || 14 || || 40.7 || 369 || 943 || 39.1% || 80 || 294 || 27.2% || 252 || 392 || 64.3% || 39.0 || 14.9 || 4.8 || 4.3 || 14.5 || 75.9 |}

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FGM	Field-goal made	FGA	Field-goal attempts	FG%	Field-goal percentage
3PM	3-point field-goal made	3PA	3-point field-goal attempts	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage
FTM	Free-throw made	FTA	Free-throw attempts	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	TOT	Turnovers per game	PPG	Points per game

Source: inboundPASS

Awards

Name	Award	Date	Ref.
Jervy Cruz	Mythical team	24 Sep 2008	^[8]
Tata Bautista	Tokyo Tokyo All-rookie team	24 Sep 2008	^[8]

Players drafted into the PBA

Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Player	PBA team
2009	1	4	4	Jervy Cruz	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
2009	2	4	13	Francis Allera	Burger King Whoppers

References

^ Villar, Joey. "UAAP 71st season under way". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved 5 Jul 2008.
^ Olivares, Rick. "A Tiger season's end". Bleachers Brew. Retrieved 6 Sep 2008.
^ Payo, Jasmine. "2-way fight for MVP title shaping up". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 Sep 2008.
^ Brobo, Heinz Jassen. "Beefing up Lair '71". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 30 Jun 2008.
^ Divinagracia, Anthony Andrew. "A lair in stitches". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 30 Sep 2008.
^ Payo, Jasmine. "Jervy doubtful; Loyzaga gives Castro advice". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2008. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 12 May 2008 suggested (help)
^ Bustamante, Paolo. "The Graduates: UST point guard Japs Cuan continues to assist". SLAMonline Philippines. Retrieved 3 Sep 2016.
^ Villar, Joey. "Ateneo sweeps MVP, top rookie honors". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 24 Sep 2008.

[1] Villar, Joey. "UAAP 71st season under way". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved 5 Jul 2008.

[2] Olivares, Rick. "A Tiger season's end". Bleachers Brew. Retrieved 6 Sep 2008.

[3] Payo, Jasmine. "2-way fight for MVP title shaping up". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 Sep 2008.

[4] Brobo, Heinz Jassen. "Beefing up Lair '71". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 30 Jun 2008.

[5] Divinagracia, Anthony Andrew. "A lair in stitches". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 30 Sep 2008.

[6] Payo, Jasmine. "Jervy doubtful; Loyzaga gives Castro advice". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2008. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 12 May 2008 suggested (help)

[7] Bustamante, Paolo. "The Graduates: UST point guard Japs Cuan continues to assist". SLAMonline Philippines. Retrieved 3 Sep 2016.

[8] Villar, Joey. "Ateneo sweeps MVP, top rookie honors". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 24 Sep 2008.

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