UST veteran Nic Cabañero clinches the UAAP Final Four dream with the Growling Tigers in his fourth year in España.
Finally, Nic Cabañero has stepped into the Final Four.
After three years of losing seasons, the time has come for him and the UST Growling Tigers to get over the hump. They locked the third seed in UAAP Season 87 with a 75-49 demolition job of the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday night.
[RELATED: UAAP: UST rides third quarter surge to book Final Four slot at expense of Adamson]
Having to go through UST’s rebuilding phase and various systems, Cabañero is delighted to find the right fit.
“Super blessed. Happy ako dahil 'yun nga, with the guidance of the coaches, Coach Pido [Jarencio], and the management, pati dun sa mga teammates ko rin, [nakarating kami sa Final Four],” Cabañero said.
“Super natutuwa ako kasi even though I’m struggling earlier from the first half, they continued to cheer me up, motivate me,” he added.
In the Final Four-clinching win, Cabañero was among those who stepped up — just as he did in their other games this season. But getting the biggest win of his career so far, it has all been worth it for the 21-year-old.
“Thank you din sa Thomasian community dahil ginagawa ko talaga, I’ve stayed for three years in here, this is my fourth year, meron pa kong last year for next year. So thank you din sa support and sa love, and of course, sa family ko,” he said.
Though no one will question Cabañero’s impact in the UST program — even during the years where they failed to make the Final Four or achieve a winning record, he wasn’t one to hog the credit as they reached a new milestone in his career.
Marking the Growling Tigers’ first-ever Final Four since 2019, Cabañero deflected the credit to their coaches, and the rest of the staff in UST.
“Hindi naman namin kayang magawa lang as players lang din. 'Yun nga, with the guidance of the coaches, PTs, utilities, lahat yan, andiyan,” he said.
“'Yun nga, sabi nga ni Coach Pido sa'kin nung unang usap namin na tiyaga ka lang, antayin natin na dadating ulit yung fans ng UST.”
And come they did, the UST faithful.
In the crucial game against Adamson, the Growling Tigers were energized by their sixth man in the stands, as fans flocked to the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
After ending the first half with only a one point lead against Adamson, 29-28, the UST community powered them to a scorching 23-4 third quarter that blew the game wide open.
Rookie Amiel Acido’s 14 points highlighted UST’s win where Cabañero and Mo Tounkara also chipped in double-digit scoring with 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
Despite riding high on their Final Four qualification, the Growling Tigers will still have to hurdle semis opponents UP whom they face in the Final Four with a twice-to-beat advantage.
First, though, they will have a lengthy break as the UAAP enters a short break for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.