Same old story, same old plot, same characters involved and I still believe that it will be going to have the same old ending, a championship. Again, the UST Growling Tigers lose its first game in the UAAP Season 71 Men’s Basketball. For several consecutive years, the UST Growling Tigers lose its first games of the tourney. The game was against the UE Red Warriors. Despite a monster game by reigning MVP Jervy Cruz, the Growling Tigers accepted its first defeat 78-73. Considering a great team effort on rebounds, UST shot poorly beyond the arc and commit many turnovers that caused the game in the dying seconds.

Refreshing our minds on what happened last UAAP Season 69, UST Growling Tigers lose to UP Fighting Maroons on its first game, yet they end up winning the Championship. Winning your first games in a tourney will really put a mark on other teams but with a long format like UAAP Men’s Basketball tourney (double round robin elimination), not only the first games will matter but mostly the game that is down the line. Ideally, a win is very important whether it is in the first or last part of the tourney. But if we will refresh our minds with what happened last season, UE Red Warriors swept the whole elimination but end up losing the championship. Every win counts but it is not the quantity but the quality. It is not about how many wins, it is about when you win it.