Rowie Cabañero registered a triple-double as University of Santo Tomas snapped Far Eastern University-Diliman’s three-game winning streak, 92-82, in the UAAP Season 88 Junior High School Basketball Tournament on Wednesday morning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. The victory also forged a four-way tie for second place.
With Prince Cariño sidelined due to illness—he had been averaging 22.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game through five outings—the Tiger Cubs leaned on Cabañero’s all-around brilliance.
The 5-foot-6 guard from Mahaplag, Leyte finished with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals to secure UST’s second straight win.
Earlier, University of the East’s Zion Aguilar almost achieved the same feat as well, tallying 23 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, sparking their 89-66 rout of De La Salle-Zobel to return to the win column.
UST’s and UE’s victories created a four-way tie for second with Adamson University, and FEU-D, all holding 4-2 records.
National University Nazareth School remains atop the standings with a perfect 6-0 slate.
Cabañero’s triple-double marked the season’s second and the fifth overall since the tournament’s Season 86 debut, following Clark Khobuntin’s 17 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and one block in NU Nazareth School’s 92-83 victory over Adamson last Wednesday, October 15, also at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Rinemind ko sa kanila kanina nung sinabi na wala yung Cariño, sinamantala namin habang wala yung Cariño. Kailangan namin talunin talaga sila for positioning sa standings. Swerte kami na wala yung top scorer nila,” UST head coach Noli Mejos said.
Other notable contributions for UST included Jubilado, who tallied a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double, CJ Tabbuga, who scored all 18 of his points in the first half along with four rebounds and two steals, and Gab Castro, who added 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two blocks.
After a disappointing overtime loss to Adamson University last Saturday, Aguilar bounced back in spectacular fashion, scoring 18 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-9 three-point shooting.
“We came from a heartbreaking loss against Adamson so talagang nag-regroup kami. When we went to practice, kinausap ko sila ng masinsinan, we had a meeting and then after that, naging mindset na lang namin na kalimutan na ‘yon and bumawi sa La Salle, and we did,” UE head coach Matthew Sia said.
Perdigon contributed 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting with six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
Jaden Roxas added 10 points, while Sean Felizmenia chipped in nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
For FEU-D, Enriquez led the charge in Cariño’s absence with 24 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists, while Chavez had 18 points and nine rebounds with one steal.
For DLSZ, John Mindanao scored 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting with four steals, two rebounds, and two assists, while Wayne Rivera and Jullian Panga added 12 points each, leaving the Junior Archers winless through six games.
