UST Growling Tigers men's basketball

UST Growling Tigers
2015 UST Growling Tigers season
Leagues	UAAP, Filoil Flying V League
Founded	1924
History	UST Glowing Goldies (1924–1992) UST Growling Tigers (1992–present)
Team colors	Gold, white, and black
Head coach	Bong dela Cruz
Championships	20 titles NCAA: 1 (1930) UAAP: 18 (1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1967, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2006) PCCL: 1 (2012)

The UST Growling Tigers men's basketball is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Santo Tomas. The Growling Tigers have won 19 men's basketball titles including one National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. It is one of the winningest team in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men's basketball, tied with UE Red Warriors, with 18 titles. The Growling Tigers also participate in Millennium Basketball League Invitational. The team is currently coached by Bong dela Cruz.

History

Glowing Goldies era

The basketball team was previously known as UST Glowing Goldies until 1992.^[1][2] The team won one NCAA championship in 1930. UST then withdrew permanently in NCAA in 1936 and founded UAAP in 1938.^[3] Upon the resumption of the UAAP games after the Pacific War, the Goldies were in every championship match from 1946 up to 1956. From 1964 to 1971, the team met the UE Red Warriors eight times in a championship match, with the Red Warriors winning seven encounters.^[4]

In the 50th season of UAAP in 1987, the team's Fedencio Oblina was found to be ineligible as he failed his National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE). The board then forfeited all of UST's win where Oblina played, with the Goldies going from a 6–3 record (tied for third) to a 2–7 record, at seventh place ahead of winless NU Bulldogs. The forfeitures benefited Adamson, Ateneo and FEU. Ateneo found themselves at the top of the standings with an 8–1 record. A source of the Manila Standard newspaper confirmed that while Oblina failed the NCEE twice, he passed it on 1985.^[5] The UAAP Board then confirmed that Oblina has been meted with a lifetime ban.^[6]

UAAP Final Four era

"Re-live '96 at Season '69!": The Thomasian crowd at the deciding game of the Season 69 men's basketball finals.

The UAAP introduced a new tournament format known as Final Four in UAAP Season 56. At its first year of implementation includes a four-year run as champions,^[7] from the 1993–94 season, where Growling Tigers swept the elimination round with an immaculate 14–0 record (automatic champions), up to the 1996–97 season,^[8] where they defeated the De La Salle Green Archers for the third consecutive time in a Finals series. The Tigers were led by coach Aric del Rosario from the 1992–93 season up to the 2003–04 season.^[9]

In 2006, the Tigers defeated the Blue Eagles of the Ateneo de Manila University to win their eighteenth UAAP men's title, and their first since the 1996 season.^[8] Former Glowing Goldie Alfredo Jarencio piloted UST to the championship as a rookie coach.^[2][10] In 2013 season, the Tigers, led by Jarencio, became the first and only #4 rank team to beat #1 seed since the implementation of Final Four in UAAP.^[11] The team defeated top-seeded NU Bulldogs twice in semifinals to face La Salle in Finals after 14 years since 1999.^[12]

Rivalries

De La Salle Green Archers

The rivalry between De La Salle Green Archers and the UST Growling Tigers is contested at the UAAP. Both were known for their numerous basketball championship matches in the 1990s, with UST winning four straight titles^[7] at the expense of the Green Archers. Prior to La Salle joining the UAAP the two schools met in the championship during 1948–1949 season of the National Seniors Open, a yearly tournament of top collegiate and commercial teams in the country. La Salle defeated UST in overtime to win the title.^[13]

The rivalry began on consecutive Finals series in men's basketball between the two schools in the 1990s, with UST winning each time, capping a four-year championship run.^[7] La Salle was defeated three consecutive years in the Finals (1994-1996) until 1998 when La salle defeated UST in the semifinals to begin their own four-year championship run, including a 1999 series against UST in which the Tigers won game 1. La Salle bounced back defeating UST in overtime for the 1999 UAAP title. Their basketball rivalry diminished in latter years due to UST's decline. The Game 1 finals victory was their last against La Salle until 2007 when UST won in overtime; at this point, UST's basketball program regressed, but they won in 2006 when La Salle was suspended after admitting they had unknowingly fielded two ineligible players.^[14] La Salle would then win all games until 2011. La Salle defeated UST in the UAAP basketball Finals in 2013.

Since 1988, La Salle leads the men's basketball rivalry 31–26, although they're tied at playoff games 8–8. If the forfeited games are reversed, the head-to-head record is 37–20 for La Salle.

UE Red Warriors

The UST–UE rivalry began once the UE Red Warriors became contenders during the mid-1960s to early 1970s, an almost a decade dominated by the Red Warriors. The Glowing Goldies met the Red Warriors eight times in the Finals of the basketball tournament, with the latter winning seven encounters. It is the longest finals appearance between two teams in the UAAP history.^[4] In 1967, both teams ended up co-champions in the UAAP, a testament to the fierce rivalry between UST and UE. Notable players at the emergence of this rivalry were Goldies' forward Danilo Florencio and Warriors' Robert Jaworski.^[15]

The last playoff meeting between the teams was a deciding semifinal game in the 69th season of UAAP in 2006, with UE holding a twice-to-beat advantage. Tigers won the game with 1-point lead and have sealed their bid to face Ateneo in the Finals.^[16]

Season-by-season records

1987 to 1992

• 1987 — 7th place
• 1988 — 7th place
• 1989 — 7th place
• 1990 — 5th place
• 1991 — 3rd place
• 1992 — 4th place

UAAP Final Four era

Season	Eliminations					Playoffs results
	Finish	GP	W	L	PCT
Januario "Aric" del Rosario (1993–2004)
1993–94	1st	14	14	0	1.000	Automatic champions
1994–95	3rd	12	8	4	.667	Won semifinals (UE 87–81, 83–74) Won Finals (La Salle 2–1)
1995–96	1st	14	11	3	.786	Won semifinals (FEU 65–76, 74–68) Won Finals (La Salle 2–1)
1996–97	2nd	14	10	4	.714	Won semifinals (UP 63–56) Won Finals (La Salle 2–0)
1997–98	2nd	14	10	4	.714	Lost semifinals (La Salle 73–82, 72–74)
1998–99	T–4th	14	7	7	.500	Won 4th-seed playoff (UP 80–72) Lost semifinals (La Salle 51–55, 51–56)
1999–2000	T–1st	14	11	3	.786	Lost 1st-seed playoff (La Salle 79–84) Won semifinals (Ateneo 85–84) Lost Finals (La Salle 1–2)
2000–01	T–4th	14	8	6	.571	Won 4th-seed playoff (UE 65–61) Lost semifinals (La Salle 62–65)
2001–02	T–6th	14	6	8	.429	—
2002–03	4th	14	8	6	.571	Lost semifinals (La Salle 84–97)
2003–04	T–5th	14	5	9	.357	—
Aric del Rosario		152	98	54	.645	Playoffs: 26 games (14–12 win–loss record)
Reonel Parado (2004–2006)
2004–05	7th	14	4	10	.286	—
2005–06	6th	14	4	10	.286	—
Reonel Parado		28	8	20	.286	Playoffs: did not qualify at all
Alfredo "Pido" Jarencio (2006–2014)
2006–07	T–3rd	12	6	6	.500	Won 3rd-seed playoff (Adamson 85–71) Won semifinals (UE 79–75, 82–81) Won Finals (Ateneo 2–1)
2007–08	T–4th	14	8	6	.571	Won 4th-seed playoff (FEU 80–69) Lost the first round (Ateneo 64–69)
2008–09	5th	14	6	8	.429	—
2009–10	4th	14	6	8	.429	Lost semifinals (Ateneo 64–81)
2010–11	7th	14	4	10	.286	—
2011–12	4th	14	8	6	.571	Lost semifinals (Ateneo 66–69)
2012–13	2nd	14	10	4	.714	Won semifinals (NU 63–57) Lost Finals (Ateneo 0–2)
2013–14	4th	14	8	6	.571	Won semifinals (NU 71–62, 76–69) Lost Finals (La Salle 1–2)
Pido Jarencio		110	56	54	.509	Playoffs: 18 games (10–8 win–loss record)
Segundo "Bong" dela Cruz (2014–2015)
2014–15	6th	14	5	9	.357	—
2015–16	1st	14	11	3	.786	Won semifinals (NU 64–55) Lost Finals vs FEU (1–2)
Bong dela Cruz		28	16	12	.571	Playoffs: 4 games (2–2 win–loss record)
Eliminations			318	178	140	.560	14 playoff appearances
Playoffs and Finals			48	26	22	.542	8 Finals appearances
Overall record			366	204	162	.557	5 championships
Legend:      Champion      Second place      Third place      UST as season host

Players

Current roster

UST Growling Tigers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight Playing yr. High School G 5 Suarez, Janus Kyle Cristian L. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) – 2nd Ateneo de Manila PG 6 Sheriff Jr., Sheak Jamil J. 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 4th Vaughan SF 7 Ferrer, Kevin M. (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 5th UST SG 8 Daquioag, Eduardo Jr. D. 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 5th RTU PG 9 Lee, Dean Marvin M. 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) – Rookie FEU Diliman PG 10 Abdurasad, Osama Said S. 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) – Rookie Kaunlaran HS F 11 Caunan, Enrique Jr. P. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) – Rookie Letran PG 12 Garrido, Janrey L. 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) – 2nd Hope Christian PF 13 Huang, Zachary Lance Eden T. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – Rookie SHS-Ateneo de Cebu G/F 14 Bonleon, Mario Emmanuel Jr. T. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) – Rookie La Salle Green Hills C 15 Faundo, Jeepy C. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 3rd JRU F 16 Araña, Justin P. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) – Rookie Baroda NHS PG 17 Subido, Henri Lorenzo P. 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 135 lb (61 kg) 2nd La Salle-Zobel SG 18 Vigil, Louie Philippe V. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 4th JRU PF 19 Lao, Kent Jefferson S. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 4th St. Stephen's C 20 Abdul, Karim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 5th Sta. Clara	Head coach Bong dela Cruz Assistant coach(es) Senen Dueñas Manny Calipes Alvin Patrimonio Strength and conditioning coach(es) Kris Anthony Agarao Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Team depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Karim Abdul	Jeepy Faundo
PF	Kent Lao	Zachary Huang
SF	Kevin Ferrer
SG	Ed Daquioag	Louie Vigil	Mario Bonleon	Kyle Suarez
PG	Jamil Sheriff	Marvin Lee	Renzo Subido	Janrey Garrido

Notable players Awards and honors Most Valuable Player Garry Artajos – 1969 Dennis Espino – 1993, 1994 Christopher Cantonjos – 1995 Jojo Duncil – 2006 (Finals) Jervy Cruz – 2007 Dylan Ababou – 2009 Rookie of the Year Gerard Francisco – 1995 Jeric Teng – 2009 Team staff Team Physicians Dr. Consuelo G. Suarez – rehab medicine and sports medicine Dr. Raul B. Palma – neurosports medicine and team psychologist Interns – physical therapy and sports medicine, Institute of Nutrition Support Staff Edwin Escobar – weights trainer Gina Francisco – liaison to UST admin; statistician Rodil "Boy" Sablan – academic adviser Head coaches Herminio Silva Carlos Loyzaga Rogelio Serafico Orlando Bauzon (1988) Tonichi Pujante (1989) Fred Reyes (1989) Januario del Rosario (1985–1987, 1990–2004) Reonel Parado (2004–2006) Alfredo Jarencio (2006–2014) Segundo dela Cruz (2014–present) Controversies In the early part of the 2016, the Growling Tigers management investigated UST head coach Bong dela Cruz for the alleged involvement in game-fixing. A report from sports news website Fastbreak states from a source that the management disbanded the men's basketball team due to game-fixing and sell-out games allegations.[17] Another report from Spin.ph notes that Dela Cruz accused for maltreatment and abusive incidents against some of the players, particuarly players from Team B, during his two-year term as a coach.[18] Dela Cruz, later in a statement released on February 1, that since the issues emerged, he decided to keep quiet on it. Coach denies the allegations faced against him and he is proven innocent in the issues.[19] See also UST Growling Tigers References Evite, D.J.B. "'Mommy Tiger' bids goodbye". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 2012-03-13. Paje, K.F.L. "'Cinderella story' ng UST sa UAAP basketball". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 2012-03-13. Roa, A.M.G.; Dela Cruz, E.K.A; and Dimerin, P.N.P. (2008-02-29). "UST shelves UAAP-NCAA merger talks". The Varsitarian 79 (8). Retrieved 2012-03-14. Mendoza, S. (2011-07-15). "UST Growling Tigers". College Hoops. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2012-03-14. Atencio, Peter (1987-09-08). "UST forfeits 4 games due to 'bad egg'". Manila Standard. Retrieved 2012-03-14. "Nats reach out from depths to drown UP". Manila Standard. 1987-09-10. Retrieved 2012-03-14. Luzano, I.M. (2005-07-15). "UST Champs relive glory days". The Varsitarian 77 (2). Retrieved 2012-03-13. Baldovino, T.J.R.; Dimerin, P.N.P; Fantilagan, A.; Parel, A.R.I.; and Roa, A.M. "On the lighter side". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 2012-03-14. Almo, A.T. (2004-06-03). "Parado replaces Aric". The Varsitarian 75 (10). Retrieved 2012-03-13. Cruz, N. (2006-10-04). "Even Cinderella would have envied UST’s finish". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 2012-03-13. Flores, C.R. (2013-09-28). "UST stuns NU to reach UAAP 76 finals". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-10-01. Lintag, P.K.A. (2013-09-28). "Growling Tigers upset NU, arrange Finals duel with La Salle". The Varsitarian. Retrieved 2013-10-01. Henson, J.M. (2003-12-26). "Sporting chance: readers take over". Philippine Daily Inquirer (The INQUIRER Company). Retrieved 2012-03-14. Payo, J.W. (2007-08-12). "Tigers beat Archers at last". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The INQUIRER Company. Retrieved 2012-03-14. "The UE–UST rubber match: A classic of a cage championship". The Sunday Times Magazine. The Manila Times Publishing, Corp. 1965-11-28. Retrieved 2012-03-14. Payo, J. (2006-09-22). "Tigers oust Warriors, seal duel with Eagles". Philippine Daily Inquirer (The INQUIRER Company). Retrieved 2012-03-14. "No heart, no chance? Sellout disbands UST". Fastbreak. January 28, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016. Terrado, Reuben (January 28, 2016). "UST source details maltreatment, violence allegedly committed by coach Bong Dela Cruz against players". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 1, 2016. "UST coach Bong Dela Cruz insists he is 'innocent' of 'issues' against him". Rappler. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.