UST Growling Tigresses in the in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament game against UE Lady Warriors. –UAAP PHOTO

University of Santo Tomas returned to its winning ways and overcame also-ran University of the East, 84-62, to solidify its hold on second place in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After a 70-76 loss to NU Lady Bulldogs last Wednesday, the Growling Tigresses quickly bounced back to improve their record to 10-2 with a game and half cushion over the Adamson Lady Falcons for the second seed.

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“We shouldn’t get too comfortable. Of course, we need to have mental toughness. When you’re one of the top teams, there’s a tendency to relax. They need to keep the mindset of taking it one day at a time and always sticking to the process,” UST assistant coach Ged Austria said.

READ: UAAP: NU Lady Bulldogs beat UST anew, close in on elims sweep

Despite the dominant win, Austria wasn’t happy with how his team opened the game against the Lady Red Warriors, who hung tough until a fourth breakaway by the Tigresses.

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“We did not play the way we wanted to play in the first three quarters. It’s clear na marami pa dapat gawin and corrections na need gawin. For the near future, we’re taking it one game at a time,” Austria added.

Tacky Tacatac dropped 20 of her 25 points in the second half to go along with four steals, three assists, and two rebounds, while Kent Jane Pastrana tallied 18 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals.

READ: UAAP: NU Lady Bulldogs, UST Tigresses stay in the lead

Sierba contributed 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with three rebounds and three steals on plus-29 in 21 minutes and six seconds of play, while Danganan flirted with a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go along with two steals, one block, and one assist.

UST looks to lock in the second seed in an all-important clash against Adamson on November 16 at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Meanwhile, UE’s struggles continued after absorbing its eighth consecutive loss to drop to a 1-11 card.

The Scores:

UST (84) – Tacatac 25, Pastrana 18, Sierba 16, N. Danganan 9, Santos 5, Maglupay 4, Soriano 3, Relliquette 2, Ambos 2, Bron 0, Serrano 0, Pescador 0, Pineda 0, Lopez 0, Amatong 0.

UE (62) – Lacayanga 22, Kone 22, Vacalares 9, Ganade 7, Ronquillo 2, Dalguntas 0, Cruz 0, Buscar 0, Lumibao 0, Yanes 0.

Quarterscores: 13-15, 35-24, 50-40, 84-62