# 2024 UST Growling Tigers basketball team

The 2024 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team is representing the University of Santo Tomas in the ongoing 87th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the academic year 2024–25 began on September 7, 2024, and the host school for the season is the University of the Philippines.

## Roster

The Growling Tigers presented 18 players for the UAAP media day photo shoot on August 29, 2024. The roster was finalized on September 5, 2024, with forward Lorenzo Bangco and Nigerian center Peter Osang getting cut from the official 16-man lineup.
===Depth chart===
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Tounkara | Laure | |
| PF | Manaytay | Crisostomo | |
| SF | Danting | Llemit | Pangilinan |
| SG | Cabañero | Estacio | Acido |
| PG | Padrigao | Paranada | |

## Roster changes
### Departures

| Pos. | No. | Player | Height | Year | High school | Notes |
| SG | 0 | Ivan Lazarte | 6' 2" | 2nd | Malayan High School of Science | Transferred to Mapúa University |
| SG | 2 | Kylle Matthew Magdangal | 5' 11" | 2nd | Marina High School | Transferred to the University of the East |
| C | 3 | Prudencio Adrian Esmeña III | 6' 6" | 1st | National University Nazareth School | Age ineligible |
| SF | 8 | Vincent Gabriel Ventulan | 6' 4" | 5th | Fort Pierce Central High School | Graduated |
| SG | 12 | Saentis James Moore | 6' 1" | 1st | Arellano University High School | Transferred to College of Saint Benilde |
| SF | 15 | Kenji Trey Duremdes | 6' 3" | 2nd | National University Nazareth School | Transferred to the University of the East |
| PG | 22 | Paul Matthew Manalang | 5' 10" | 3rd | National University Nazareth School | Forwent eligibility to turn professional |
| C | 23 | Adama Faye | 6' 8" | 2nd | Le Pionnier | Left the team midway in Season 86 |
| SF | 24 | Jonathan Ralf Gesalem | 6' 1" | 3rd | Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu | Forwent eligibility to turn professional |

### Acquisitions

| Pos. | No. | Player | Height | Year | High school | Notes |
| SG | 1 | Leland Reuben Estacio | 6' 2" | 3rd | Franklin High School | Transferred from West Valley College |
| PG | 3 | Kyle Brandon Paranada | 5' 9" | 3rd | Montgomery High School | Transferred from the University of the East |
| PF | 5 | Chase Lane | 6' 4" | 5th | Covenant College Prep | Transferred from Claflin University |
| PG | 11 | Rence Keith Sean Padrigao | 5' 11" | 3rd | Ateneo de Manila | Transferred from Ateneo de Manila |
| SF | 12 | Glenn Isaac Danting | 6' 3" | 1st | University of the Assumption | Transferred from Ateneo de Manila |
| SG | 20 | Leonardo Amiel Acido | 6' 3" | 1st | University of Perpetual Help | Rookie |
| C | 21 | Zain Mahmood | 6' 7" | 1st | Maranatha High School | Rookie |
| SG | 23 | Geremy Jaylen Robinson Jr. | 6' 1" | 1st | Moanalua High School | Transferred from De La Salle University |
| C | 36 | Hinda Mady dit Mohamed Tounkara | 6' 7" | 1st | Lycée Public de Kalabancoro | Foreign student-athlete |

### Recruiting class

| Name | Pos. | Height | High school | Hometown | Commit date |
| Amiel Acido | SG | 6' 3" | University of Perpetual Help | Antipolo | 31 May 2024 |
| 2023 NBTC Top 24 rank: 11 ||||||
| 2024 NBTC Top 24 rank: 3 ||||||
| Forthsky Padrigao | PG | 5' 11" | Ateneo de Manila | Zamboanga City | 30 Sep 2023 |
| 2019 NBTC Top 24 rank: 11 (National Finals #5 seed, Division 1 Round-of-16 qualifier) ||||||
| 2020 NBTC Top 24 rank: 15 ||||||
| Zain Mahmood | C | 6' 7" | Maranatha High School | Mississauga | 23 Feb 2024 |
| 2023 NBTC Top 24 rank: N/A (National Finals #1 seed, Division 1 finalists) ||||||
| The National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) is a grassroots program in the Philippines that develops and ranks outstanding players from high schools who compete in a five month-long nationwide youth basketball tournament. The program has enabled local coaches to recruit skilled players to play collegiate basketball. |||||||

## Schedule and results
### Preseason games

The Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup games were aired via livestream on the Facebook pages of Filoil EcoOil Sports and Smart Sports, and Filoil EcoOil Sports' YouTube channel.
Preseason game log :
2024 Filoil EcoOil 17th Preseason Cup: 3–4 :
| Game | Date • Time | Opponent | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Location |
| 1 | May 17 • 5:00 pm | De La Salle Green Archers | L 61–68 | 0–1 | Cabañero (14) | Tounkara (9) | Padrigao (3) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
| 2 | May 20 • 5:00 pm | UP Fighting Maroons | L 73–76 | 0–2 | Estacio (16) | Tounkara (10) | Padrigao (6) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
| 3 | May 22 • 1:00 pm | NU Bulldogs | W 76–75$^{OT}$ | 1–2 | Cabañero (19) | Tounkara (14) | Paranada (5) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
| 4 | May 27 • 1:00 pm | Ateneo Blue Eagles | W 63–52 | 2–2 | Osang (16) | Osang (12) | Padrigao (6) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
| 5 | Jun 1 • 9:00 am | UE Red Warriors | L 60–66 | 2–3 | Crisostomo (12) | Osang (15) | Padrigao (3) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
| 6 | Jun 5 • 5:00 pm | Adamson Soaring Falcons | W 58–54 | 3–3 | Tounkara (15) | Tounkara (10) | Padrigao (2) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
| 7 | Jun 6 • 1:00 pm | FEU Tamaraws | L 72–79 | 3–4 | Cabañero (17) | Osang (14) | Tied (2) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in UTC+08:00. :

### UAAP games

Elimination games are played in a double round-robin format and all of UST's games are televised on One Sports and the UAAP Varsity Channel, and livestreamed through the Pilipinas Live app.
UAAP Season 87 game log :
Elimination round: 7–7 :
| Game | Date • Time | Opponent | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Location |
| 1 | Sep 8 • 1:45 pm | UE Red Warriors | W 70–55 | 1–0 | Cabañero (14) | Crisostomo (9) | Padrigao (7) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 2 | Sep 11 • 7:34 pm | Ateneo Blue Eagles | W 74–64 | 2–0 | Tied (16) | Tounkara (14) | Padrigao (9) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 3 | Sep 15 • 3:40 pm | Adamson Soaring Falcons | L 56–69 | 2–1 | Cabañero (16) | Crisostomo (6) | Padrigao (6) | Mall of Asia Arena Pasay |
| 4 | Sep 21 • 4:50 pm | NU Bulldogs | W 67–64 | 3–1 | Tounkara (15) | Tounkara (10) | Padrigao (5) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 5 | Sep 29 • 4:30 pm | De La Salle Green Archers | L 67–88 | 3–2 | Cabañero (16) | Tounkara (5) | Padrigao (5) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 6 | Oct 2 • 4:31 pm | UP Fighting Maroons | L 70–81 | 3–3 | Tounkara (21) | Tied (6) | Padrigao (7) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 7 | Oct 5 • 4:32 pm | FEU Tamaraws End of R1 of eliminations | W 83–72 | 4–3 | Tounkara (21) | Tounkara (17) | Padrigao (11) | Mall of Asia Arena Pasay |
| 8 | Oct 13 • 6:53 pm | UP Fighting Maroons | L 73–83 | 4–4 | Tounkara (24) | Tied (9) | Padrigao (6) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 9 | Oct 16 • 6:31 pm | De La Salle Green Archers | L 87–94$^{OT}$ | 4–5 | Cabañero (23) | Cabañero (12) | Tied (3) | Mall of Asia Arena Pasay |
| 10 | Oct 19 • 12:43 pm | Ateneo Blue Eagles | L 64–67 | 4–6 | Cabañero (18) | Crisostomo (16) | Padrigao (5) | Quadricentennial Pavilion, Manila |
| 11 | Oct 27 • 6:30 pm | FEU Tamaraws | W 79–70 | 5–6 | Cabañero (16) | Tounkara (12) | Tied (3) | Mall of Asia Arena Pasay |
| 12 | Nov 6 • 6:30 pm | NU Bulldogs | L 62–67 | 5–7 | Cabañero (19) | Tounkara (18) | Padrigao (7) | Mall of Asia Arena Pasay |
| 13 | Nov 9 • 6:36 pm | UE Red Warriors | W 76–67 | 6–7 | Cabañero (27) | Tounkara (12) | Padrigao (6) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
| 14 | Nov 16 • 6:31 pm | Adamson Soaring Falcons End of R2 of eliminations | W 75–49 | 7–7 | Acido (14) | Tounkara (14) | Tied (6) | Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan |
Final Four: 0–1 :
| Game | Date • Time | Seed | Opponent | Result | Series | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Location |
| 1 | Nov 30 • 3:54 pm | (#3) | (#2) UP Fighting Maroons | L 69–78 | 0–1 (7–8) | Tied (12) | Tied (8) | Paranada (4) | Araneta Coliseum Quezon City |
(#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in UTC+08:00. Source: Imperium Technology :

## UAAP statistics
### Eliminations

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | PPG |
| Nic Cabañero | 14 | 11 | 30.0 | 83 | 199 | 41.7 | 13 | 62 | 21.0 | 49 | 80 | 61.3 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 16.3 |
| Mo Tounkara | 13 | 13 | 28.6 | 72 | 157 | 45.9 | 12 | 37 | 32.4 | 24 | 36 | 66.7 | 10.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 13.8 |
| Forthsky Padrigao | 14 | 13 | 27.2 | 45 | 146 | 30.8 | 22 | 97 | 22.7 | 11 | 18 | 61.1 | 3.3 | 6.1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 8.8 |
| Christian Manaytay | 14 | 5 | 21.6 | 42 | 94 | 44.7 | 8 | 22 | 36.4 | 25 | 34 | 73.5 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 8.4 |
| Kyle Paranada | 14 | 0 | 11.4 | 24 | 56 | 42.9 | 15 | 35 | 42.9 | 8 | 15 | 53.3 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 5.1 |
| Gelo Crisostomo | 14 | 9 | 19.1 | 26 | 58 | 44.8 | 3 | 11 | 27.3 | 9 | 13 | 69.2 | 6.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 4.6 |
| Amiel Acido | 14 | 0 | 9.9 | 16 | 51 | 31.4 | 12 | 39 | 30.8 | 5 | 7 | 71.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 3.5 |
| Mark Llemit | 14 | 3 | 15.1 | 15 | 49 | 30.6 | 8 | 24 | 33.3 | 10 | 18 | 55.6 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.4 |
| Ice Danting | 9 | 8 | 8.1 | 7 | 15 | 46.7 | 5 | 12 | 41.7 | 3 | 6 | 50.0 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.4 |
| Migs Pangilinan | 14 | 1 | 9.0 | 8 | 32 | 25.0 | 8 | 30 | 26.7 | 5 | 7 | 71.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2.1 |
| Geremy Robinson | 10 | 2 | 9.8 | 7 | 22 | 31.8 | 1 | 8 | 12.5 | 6 | 11 | 54.5 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| Chase Lane | 10 | 5 | 7.3 | 6 | 15 | 40.0 | 2 | 7 | 28.6 | 6 | 8 | 75.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Leland Estacio | 13 | 0 | 9.2 | 7 | 26 | 26.9 | 4 | 21 | 19.0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Echo Laure | 8 | 0 | 3.6 | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| Ivanne Calum | 5 | 0 | 4.8 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Zain Mahmood | 7 | 0 | 3.9 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Total | 14 | | 40.4 | 364 | 936 | 38.9 | 113 | 407 | 27.8 | 162 | 254 | 63.8 | 42.7 | 16.9 | 7.1 | 2.4 | 14.7 | 71.6 |
| Opponents | 14 | | 40.4 | 351 | 912 | 38.5 | 109 | 363 | 30.0 | 179 | 264 | 67.8 | 43.4 | 16.0 | 6.1 | 3.4 | 15.1 | 70.7 |

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TOV | PPG |
| Kyle Paranada | 1 | 0 | 24.1 | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Nic Cabañero | 1 | 1 | 29.6 | 4 | 13 | 30.8 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| Gelo Crisostomo | 1 | 0 | 18.1 | 6 | 9 | 66.7 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Christian Manaytay | 1 | 1 | 27.1 | 4 | 12 | 33.3 | 2 | 6 | 33.3 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Mo Tounkara | 1 | 1 | 27.6 | 4 | 12 | 33.3 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Forthsky Padrigao | 1 | 1 | 25.5 | 2 | 8 | 25.0 | 1 | 6 | 16.7 | 2 | 4 | 50.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Amiel Acido | 1 | 0 | 17.3 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Migs Pangilinan | 1 | 0 | 5.5 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mark Llemit | 1 | 0 | 13.2 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Leland Estacio | 1 | 0 | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ice Danting | 1 | 1 | 3.9 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Echo Laure | 1 | 0 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | | 40.0 | 27 | 71 | 38.0 | 8 | 29 | 27.6 | 7 | 16 | 43.8 | 41 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 69 |
| Opponents | 1 | | 40.0 | 27 | 68 | 39.7 | 6 | 26 | 23.1 | 18 | 26 | 69.2 | 51 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 78 |

## Awards

| Name | Award | Date |
| Team | UAAP 2nd runner-up trophy | 30 Nov 2024 |
| Nic Cabañero | Mythical team | 28 Nov 2024 |
| Amiel Acido | Player of the Week | 16–23 Nov 2024 |