2007 UST Growling Tigers basketball team

2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball
Record
Elims rank	#T-4
Final rank	#4
2007 record	9–7 (8–6 elims)
Head coach	Pido Jarencio (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Senen Dueñas Beaujing Acot
Captain	Anthony Espiritu (5th season)

The 2007 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team represented University of Santo Tomas in the 70th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2007-08 began on July 7, 2007 and the host school for the season was also UST.

The Tigers, the Season 69 champions, ended the double round-robin eliminations in joint fourth place with the FEU Tamaraws with eight wins and six losses. They then won over FEU in the playoff for the fourth and final semifinal slot. UST held the Tamaraws to a season-low of 6 points in the second quarter. They were eliminated by the Ateneo Blue Eagles in a knockout game of the first round of the stepladder Semifinals for the right to face the second-seeded De La Salle Green Archers in the second round.

UST suffered back-to-back losses at the start of the season but recovered by winning four of their next five games to finish the first round at third place with a 4–3 record.

Two of their games went into overtime and were both against La Salle who had rejoined the league after serving a one-year suspension in Season 69 for fielding ineligible players in the past three years.. The first was an 86–90 first round loss and the other was an 81–73 win. They have defeated the Green Archers for the first time since the 1999 Finals where the Tigers lost in a three-game series with Game Three also going into overtime.

Jervy Cruz was named Most Valuable Player of the season. He topped the statistical points tally with 75.9 at the end of the second round of eliminations on top of 11 double-doubles that included two playoff games. The last UST player to win the MVP was Chris Cantonjos in 1995. Cruz was third in the league in scoring with an average of 16.7 points per game behind the 21.3 average of Adamson's Patrick Cabahug and the 17.6 points per game of NU Bulldogs' Edwin Asoro. He led the league in rebounds with a 15.4 per game average.

Francis Allera was chosen Player of the Week by the UAAP Press Corps for the duration of July 19–22, while Khasim Mirza received the citation twice on the weeks of August 2–5 and 23–26.

Roster

UST Growling Tigers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Year High School SG 5 John Hector Badua 5'11" (1.8m) 1st University of Santo Tomas SF 6 Dylan Simon Ababou 6'3" (1.91m) 3rd Siena College of Quezon City PF 7 Mark Angelo Canlas 6'5" (1.96m) 3rd Don Bosco Academy, Pampanga SG 8 Anrhony Espiritu (C) 6'4" (1.93m) 5th University of Santo Tomas PF 9 Melchor Gile 6'4" (1.93m) 3rd – PF 10 June Dizon 6'4" (1.93m) 5th San Sebastian College-Recoletos SG 11 John Darryl Basa 6'1" (1.85m) 1st University of Santo Tomas PG 12 Jose Cortez, Jr. 5'10" (1.78m) 5th University of Santo Tomas SF 14 Khasim Ali Mirza 6'4" (1.93m) 3rd La Salle College Antipolo SG 16 Franciz Philip Allera 6'3" (1.91m) 4th Dole Philippines School C 17 Chester Lloyd Taylor 6'4" (1.93m) 4th Colegio San Agustin – Makati PG 18 John Paul Cuan 5'7" (1.7m) 4th University of Santo Tomas C 19 Francis Soriano 6'6" (1.98m) 4th – C 20 Jervy Cruz 6'4" (1.93m) 4th Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College PG 21 Rum Perry Scott 5'9" (1.75m) 5th St. Joseph 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 Arlene Chua-Chiong Maya 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	Soriano
PF	Canlas	Dizon	Gile
SF	Ababou	Allera	Basa
SG	Mirza	Espiritu	Badua
PG	Cuan	Cortez	Scott

Roster changes

Subtractions

Pos.	No.	Nat.	Player	Height	Year	High school	Notes
SG	5		Andre Charles Marquez	6' 3"	2nd	La Salle Greenhills	Relegated to Team B
SG	11		Joselito Duncil	6' 1"	5th	Balucuc National High School	Forwent final year to turn professional
SG	14		Jemal Vizcarra	6' 1"	5th	Adamson University	Graduated
PF	21		Allan Evangelista	6' 3"	5th	San Sebastian College-Recoletos	Graduated

Additions

Pos.	No.	Nat.	Player	Height	Year	High school	Notes
SG	5		John Hector Badua	5' 11"	1st	University of Santo Tomas	Promoted from Team B
SG	11		John Darryl Basa	6' 1"	1st	University of Santo Tomas	Rookie
SF	14		Khasim Ali Mirza	6' 4"	3rd	La Salle College Antipolo	Transferred from World Citi Colleges
C	19		Francis Soriano	6' 6"	4th		Transferee
PG	21		Rum Perry Scott	5' 9"	5th	St. Joseph School	Transferred from Lyceum of the Philippines University

Ineligibility issues

Jojo Duncil, the Finals MVP of last year's championship series has announced to the team his decision to turn professional and forego his last playing year in the collegiate ranks.

It was revealed on July 2 during the press conference for the upcoming UAAP Season 70 by Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) director Fr. Ermito de Sagon that Duncil's age eligibility was being questioned by other member schools after it was discovered that Duncil had two NSO certificates that showed varying data. One birth certificate had 1983 as Duncil's year of birth while another had shown that he was born in 1982.

According to Fr. de Sagon of the season's host school, the team decided to exclude him from the roster to avoid future games being put under protest which can only cause distraction to the rest of the team. De Sagon added that Duncil, being the rector's nephew is undoubtedly only 24 years old and is eligible to play this season.

Schedule and results

Preseason tournaments

Further information: Nike Summer League and Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup

The Nike Summer League and the Filoil Flying V Preseason Invitational Cup games were aired on Studio 23.

Preseason game log
2007 Nike Summer League: 1–5 Game Date • Time Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 Apr 23 NU Bulldogs L 59–72 0–1 Basa (16) FEU Gym Manila 2 Apr 26 Ateneo de Zamboanga Eagles L 110–115OT 0–2 Afuang (27) FEU Gym Manila 3 May 1 Mapúa Cardinals L 62–79 0–3 FEU Gym Manila 4 May 3 FEU Tamaraws L 51–93 0–4 FEU Gym Manila 5 May 5 UP Fighting Maroons L 70–78 0–5 Basa (18) FEU Gym Manila 6 May 7 Benilde Blazers W 82–79 1–5 Basa (18) FEU Gym Manila
2007 Filoil Flying V Preseason Invitational Cup: 2–5 Game Date • Time Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 May 2 • 6:00 pm Perpetual Altas W 1–0 The Arena San Juan 2 May 4 • 6:00 pm San Beda Red Lions L 82–103 1–1 Basa (25) The Arena San Juan 3 May 6 • 2:00 pm Ateneo Blue Eagles L 60–67 1–2 Basa (16) The Arena San Juan 4 May 23 • 4:00 pm UE Red Warriors L 78–98 1–3 Afuang (22) The Arena San Juan 5 May 25 • 4:00 pm UP Fighting Maroons L 69–71 1–4 The Arena San Juan 6 May 27 • 2:00 pm FEU Tamaraws L 57–84 1–5 Afuang (13) The Arena San Juan 7 Jun 1 • 2:00 pm JRU Heavy Bombers W 96–92 2–5 Afuang (23) The Arena San Juan
Penang Unity Cup–Southeast Asian Basketball Invitational Tournament: 4–2 Game Date • Time Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 May 9 Chiap Hong W 115–58 1–0 Berapit indoor court Seberang Perai 2 May 10 Youngster Basketball Club W 94–71 2–0 Youngster Club gym George Town, Penang 3 May 11 Han Chiang College L 92–93 2–1 Tied (18) Han Chiang gym George Town, Penang 4 May 12 Han Chiang College L 75–103 2–2 Ababou (15) Han Chiang gym George Town, Penang 5 May 14 Young-one Sports Club W 106–32 3–2 Dizon (22) Young-one Sports Center George Town, Penang 6 May 15 Malaysia U-18 Club W 106–52 4–2 Dizon (16) Seberang Jaya court Seberang Perai
(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in UTC+08:00.

UAAP games

Further information: UAAP Season 70 basketball tournaments and UAAP Season 70 men's basketball tournament

Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format and all of UST's games were televised on Studio 23.

UAAP Season 70 game log
Elimination round: 8–6 Game Date • Time Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 Jul 8 • 4:00 pm UE Red Warriors L 60–73 0–1 Cruz (16) Tied (9) Cuneta Astrodome Pasay 2 Jul 14 • 4:00 pm FEU Tamaraws L 66–81 0–2 Cruz (19) Cruz (22) Cuan (4) Ninoy Aquino Stadium Manila 3 Jul 19 • 2:00 pm Adamson Soaring Falcons W 96–84 1–2 Allera (26) Cruz (23) Ninoy Aquino Stadium Manila 4 Jul 21 • 4:00 pm UP Fighting Maroons W 76–68 2–2 Allera (15) Ninoy Aquino Stadium Manila 5 Jul 26 • 2:00 pm NU Bulldogs W 83–72 3–2 Ababou (18) Cuan (8) Cuan (7) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 6 Jul 29 • 2:00 pm De La Salle Green Archers L 86–90OT 3–3 Cruz (22) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 7 Aug 4 • 4:00 pm Ateneo Blue Eagles End of R1 of eliminations W 87–74 4–3 Mirza (25) Cruz (21) Cuneta Astrodome Pasay 8 Aug 11 • 4:00 pm De La Salle Green Archers W 81–73OT 5–3 Cruz (16) Cruz (18) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City Aug 16 • 2:00 pm UP Fighting Maroons Postponed due to Typhoon Egay Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 9 Aug 19 • 2:00 pm UE Red Warriors L 82–99 5–4 Mirza (18) Cuneta Astrodome Pasay 10 Aug 26 • 4:00 pm NU Bulldogs W 84–72 6–4 Mirza (19) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 11 Aug 30 • 4:00 pm Ateneo Blue Eagles L 71–72 6–5 Cruz (22) Cruz (18) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 12 Sep 2 • 2:00 pm UP Fighting Maroons W 77–61 7–5 Espiritu (16) Cruz (14) Cruz (4) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 13 Sep 9 • 2:00 pm Adamson Falcons W 74–62 8–5 Cruz (24) Cruz (18) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 14 Sep 13 • 2:00 pm FEU Tamaraws End of R2 of eliminations L 73–84 8–6 Cruz (13) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
Playoff for fourth seed: 1–0 Game Date • Time Seed Opponent Result Series High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 Sep 17 • 3:00 pm FEU Tamaraws W 80–69 1–0 (9–6) Cruz (17) Cruz (14) Cuan (8) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
Final Four: 0–1 Game Date • Time Seed Opponent Result Series High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 Sep 23 • 3:00 pm (#4) (#1) Ateneo Blue Eagles L 64–69 0–1 (9–7) Cruz (17) Cruz (16) Cuan (5) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in UTC+08:00. Source: inboundPASS

Postseason tournament

Further information: Philippine Collegiate Championship

Postseason game log
2007 Philippine Collegiate Championship: 2–2 Game Date • Time Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Location 1 Nov 12 • 2:00 pm Mapúa Cardinals Round of 16 W 91–90 1–0 Allera (25) St. Placid Gym Manila 2 Nov 19 • 4:00 pm San Beda Red Lions Elite Eight W 88–84 2–0 Cruz (21) The Arena San Juan 3 Nov 26 • 4:00 pm Ateneo Blue Eagles Final Four L 66–92 2–1 Ababou (22) The Arena San Juan 4 Nov 28 • 2:00 pm STI Olympians Battle for 3rd place L 81–87OT 2–2 Cruz (21) The Arena San Juan
(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in UTC+08:00.

UAAP statistics

Eliminations

Player	GP	PPG	Season high
Jervy Cruz	14	16.7	24
Khasim Mirza	14	11.6	25
Dylan Ababou	14	10.5	18
Anthony Espiritu	14	7.8	16
Japs Cuan	14	7.8	13
Badong Canlas	13	6.1	10
Francis Allera	14	6.0	26
Jun Cortez	14	3.6	10
Chester Taylor	13	3.5	9
June Dizon	14	2.1	7
Hector Badua	6	1.8	6
Mel Gile	12	1.6	6
Rum Perry Scott	7	1.0	4
Kiko Soriano	3	0.7	2
Darryl Basa	4	0.5	2
Total	14	78.3	96
Opponents	14	76.1	99

Playoffs

Player	GP	PPG	Playoff high
Jervy Cruz	2	17.0	17
Dylan Ababou	2	13.5	16
Badong Canlas	2	10.0	14
Anthony Espiritu	2	8.5	12
Khasim Mirza	2	7.0	11
Japs Cuan	2	5.0	8
Jun Cortez	2	4.0	8
Chester Taylor	2	3.5	7
Francis Allera	2	2.5	5
June Dizon	2	1.0	2
Total	2	72.0	80
Opponents	2	69.0	69

Awards

Name	Award	Date	Ref.
Jervy Cruz	Season MVP	7 Oct 2007
	Mythical team
	PSBank Maaasahan Award
Japs Cuan	KFC Assist Delivery Award
Francis Allera	Player of the Week	19–22 Jul 2007
Khasim Mirza	Player of the Week	2–5 Aug 2007
		23–26 Aug 2007