Sans naming names, Tigers coach Jarencio hints at 'dishonesty' involving particular UST player

MANILA, Philippines – UST Growling Tigers head coach Pido Jarencio lamented being left hanging by one of his players, obviously referring to foreign student athlete Adama Faye, who missed a big chunk of the squad’s campaign in UAAP Season 86.

After the Tigers ended their season with their second win over FEU on Saturday, Jarencio appeared to throw verbal jabs at Faye, who appeared in only two games, last playing against the DLSU Green Archers in October 7, 2023.

“My only regret is coming into the season, may anak akong hindi nagsabi ng totoo, pagdating ng dulo iniwan kami but [the] 15 players na naiwan sa akin, wala akong masasabi sa kanila. Ginagawa nila yung lahat para manalo yung UST, manalo yung team but we fell short,” Jarencio said.

Initial developments on Faye said that he was nursing a nagging back injury before eventually leaving the team completely earlier this month, reportedly to recover in Senegal.

But if Jarencio’s words are anything to go by, there seems to be a misunderstanding on Faye’s true reasons for leaving UST. Without a foreign student athlete, the Growling Tigers struggled — finishing last in the league with a 2-12 slate.

The tactician repeatedly mentioned this sentiment during the post-game press conference, but refused to drop Faye’s name on the record.

Still, it was only Faye who left the Tigers’ den this season

“Basta tatandaan niyo, labing-anim yung anak ko, yung isang anak ko, iniwan ako, tapos,” he said.

When everything was said and done, Jarencio vowed to keep on working on his players’ development until results begin to show for the rebuilding Tigers program.

By next year, Jarencio will have transferees like Kyle Paranada and Forthsky Padrigao in his arsenal to hopefully build on this year’s campaign.

“Alam mo sa basketball, timing lang yan, lahat diyan timing. Timing manalo ka, timing magchampion ka, timing makabuo ka ng team na malakas, timing nawala yung mga player sa ibang team, nag graduate na. Timing yan. Process yan eh. Basta kami, yung proseso, tuloy tuloy lang kami,” he said.