UST eliminates No. 2 UP, roars back into UAAP Finals vs Ateneo

University of Santo Tomas kept its sensational playoff run going with a thrilling 68-65 win over University of the Philippines Wednesday night to punch its ticket in the finals before a crowd of 18,458 UAAP Season 82 at Mall of Asia Arena.

Renzo Subido knocked down the game’s biggest shot – a triple – with 23.5 seconds remaining for the go-ahead basket, 66-65, as the Growling Tigers rallied late in the game to survive their third straight knockout game in the stepladder semifinals.

Struggling in the final quarter, Soulemane Chabi Yo atoned for all of his misses earlier by making two pressure-packed foul shots with 4.4 seconds left as UST forged a finals duel with unbeaten Ateneo in the best-of-three finals starting Saturday.

Block by UST and some huge misses for UP. | @cedelfptINQ pic.twitter.com/eDcAnnsVnJ
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) November 13, 2019

The No. 2 seed UP, which had a twice to beat advantage, had one final chance to send the game to overtime, but James Spencer missed a wide open three as the buzzer sounded, sending the yellow-clad UST gallery in jubilation.