Super senior Kent Pastrana is UST’s saving grace, time and time again in UAAP Season 87.
UST superstar Kent Pastrana still proved to be the closer for the Growling Tigresses, even as she struggled from the field in the first three quarters during their second-round encounter against the Ateneo Blue Eagles at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Saturday, October 19.
Playing on their home court against reigning MVP Kacey Dela Rosa, UST needed to dig deep late in order to come away with the close victory, 77-73.
With Pastrana misfiring in the first three quarters, the home team struggled to break free from the game Blue Eagles.
But in the pivotal fourth, head coach Haydee Ong was finally able to rely on her super senior to close out the match.
Pastrana went on a personal 7-2 run to push UST’s lead to double digits, 69-59, with 4:09 left and even as Ateneo threatened a comeback, Pastrana’s scoring burst was enough to keep them at bay.
After the match, Pastrana said that it was expected that not all games will be in her favor in terms of scoring, but she can always contribute in other ways.
“Siguro, masyadong off lang talaga. Kasi yun nga, palagi naman di naman swerte araw-araw. Di naman palagi na parang lahat ng tira mo, papasok, may off game talaga,” she admitted.
“So, yung ginawa ko na lang, bumawi ako sa defense, sa ibang way, sa rebound, sa hustle, yun. Kaya, ayun, andun pa rin ako sa loob, nakakatulong pa rin. And so far, okay naman yung contribution.”
Ong, meanwhile, said that Pastrana will always be a reliable source of contributions for the Tigresses — whether that includes scoring or not, that depends.
But at the end of the day, Pastrana is someone that Ong and the rest of her team can always count on.
“Parati ko naman sinusabi kay Kent, di ba, kahit hindi ka naka-contribute sa team in scoring, she can contribute in any other ways like yung depensa niya kay Kacey nung fourth quarter, rebounds, and yung mga getting a foul and putting her on the line,” said Ong.
“So, Kent will be Kent. Even if she's off, she can contribute to the team,” she added.
Pastrana still ended up with a team-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists, four steals, and one block.
Of course, the win didn’t come without the help of other players stepping up, including player of the game Brigette Santos.
Santos finished with 15 points and five assists on a very efficient 5-of-7 shooting clip.
“Ginawa lang po talaga namin yung best namin, yung bigs namin. Alam po namin na malalaki sila, pero since na gusto namin manalo, ginawa po nila yung part nila,” Santos said.
“And sa mga smalls po, ginawa na din po namin yung best namin, maka-contribute ng maayos. And alam po namin na si ate Kent, ido-double siya. So, kailangan po talaga namin mag-step up,” she added.
Currently, the Growling Tigresses are poised for success in their title defense. They now have an 8-1 record two games into the second round.
They face the FEU Lady Tamaraws next on Sunday, October 27, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.