FORMER team member Senator Joel Villanueva said he is confident and proud of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.
Villanueva, now a team booster, believes that the team will make it to the Final 4 of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.
“When we talk about the UAAP I would always say that the Tigers will make it. They will be on the top. I have no doubt,” said Villanueva, who was part of the team that won the crown a via 14-game sweep back in 1993.
He expressed his feeling in a statement after the Growling Tigers beat the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 83-77, last Saturday, and after visiting the Growling Tigers during practice.
Last Tuesday, Senator Villanueva, who was one of the guards of the Growling Tigers during his time at UST, spent his time boosting the morale of the new generation of UST Growling Tigers.
During his time with the Growling Tigers, coach Aric de Rosario steered the team to a 14-game sweep, and they won the championship because of it.
“I shared with them some of my insights and views. One is to always realize that there’s so much responsibility when you put on that yellow jersey, the Tigers jersey. When you have it on to your chest, it should remind you of so many responsibilities. You’re not only representing yourself, not even the entire community, but the characteristics of being a Thomasian or being a Tiger,” Villanueva said.
He also shared his personal experience as a Growling Tiger back in 1994 when De La Salle Green Archers almost grabbed the crown.
That year, the UST Growling Tigers beat La Salle by only one point during the finals Game.
Villanueva was part of the UST Growling Tigers that won the UAAP Season 56 and 57 during the years 1994-1995.