Camille Naredo

Riri Perez of UST in action against De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 88 girls' basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. UAAP Media

Riri Perez of UST in action against De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 88 girls' basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

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UAAP Season 88

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<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771679278132UAAP 88 HS Girls Basketball DLSZ vs UST - Riri Perez-3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Riri Perez of UST in action against De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 88 girls&#x27; basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. UAAP Media" width="960"/>Riri Perez of UST in action against De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 88 girls&#x27; basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. UAAP Media</div>MANILA -- Defending champion University of Santo Tomas is headed to the finals of the UAAP Season 88 girls&#x27; basketball tournament.The Junior Growling Tigresses punched their ticket to the finals after routing De La Salle Zobel, 81-55, on Saturday afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.With the result, they have set up a best-of-3 championship showdown against National University Nazareth School for the second straight season.Riri Perez led the way as UST improved to 4-1, with the Junior Growling Tigresses overcoming the ejection of head coach Arsenio Dysangco with four minutes left in the fourth quarter after he was assessed with two technical fouls.La Salle Zobel dropped to 1-4 and was formally eliminated from Finals contention.&quot;Magiging ready na lang din ako sa sarili ko as you can see naman, nandiyan lang din ako para sa team and kay coach Sen -- yung samahan namin, walang iwanan,&quot; Junior Growling Tigresses assistant coach Allana Lim said.&quot;A lot of things to work on pa, pero going against NU, they are prepared naman, mental lang talaga. Mga bata pa itong mga ito, kailangan lang patapangin yung mga players pa dahil skill-wise, nandiyan na,&quot; she added.After DLSZ jumped to an early five-point lead in the first quarter, UST quickly regained its composure in the second quarter. Consecutive baskets by Sabel Anacan, Lea Pinuela, and Sandra Abrantes helped the Junior Growling Tigresses build an 18-point, 50-32 halftime advantage.That second-quarter performance proved pivotal as UST survived an error-filled third quarter, leaning on back-to-back layups by Perez to maintain a 19-point, 62-43 lead heading into the final period.The Junior Lady Archers trimmed the lead to as low as 65-52 with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter, but Perez, Abrantes, Anacan, and Kat Insoy combined efforts to keep UST ahead 77-55 with less than two minutes remaining.Perez shone for UST with 17 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and four blocks, while Indonesian center Koukou Talla added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds, and three steals.Pinuela and Insoy contributed 10 points each, while Anacan and Janice Oczon combined for 18 points in the Junior Growling Tigresses’ fourth win in five games.UST will aim for revenge for their lone loss of Season 88 when they face NUNS to close out the elimination round on Sunday, March 8, at the Blue Eagle Gym.Meanwhile, Fia Martinez paced DLSZ with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Steff Contreras added nine points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal.Ima Navarro was limited to eight points on 1-of-12 shooting but contributed three rebounds and three assists, while Apyang Dulay added eight points, 11 rebounds, four steals, and two assists.The Junior Lady Archers aim to end Season 88 on a high note against the Blue Eagles next Sunday, March 1, at the same Quezon City venue.<div> </div><div>The Scores:</div>UST (81) - Perez 17, Talla 13, Pinuela 10, Insoy 10, Anacan 9, Oczon 9, Abrantes 6, Mateo 3, Hew 2, Arciaga 2, Townes 0, Calig-onan 0, Capinpin 0.DLSZ (55) - Martinez 10, Contreras 9, Navarro 8, Dulay 8, Gerona 6, Gales 6, Ogario 5, Padigos 2, Winar 2.Quarterscores: 22-15, 50-32, 62-43, 81-55.

Defending champion University of Santo Tomas is headed to the finals of the #UAAPSeason88 girls' basketball tournament.

Defending champion University of Santo Tomas is headed to the finals of the #UAAPSeason88 girls' basketball tournament.

UAAP: UST girls crush Zobel, set up Finals showdown against NU Nazareth

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UAAP: UST girls crush Zobel, set up Finals showdown against NU Nazareth

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 21, 2026 09:11 PM PHT

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