Animo Sto Tomas-Growling Tiger's Pride!

THE TIGER

TIGER, tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? And what shoulder and what art Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand and what dread feet? What the hammer? What the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? What dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears, And watered heaven with their tears, Did He smile His work to see? Did He who made the lamb make thee? Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


It's been 8 years since the Tiger's Growl was heard over the plain known as UAAP. I still remember the good old' days when the ever bright colors of black gold, black white was still being waved all across the Araneta coliseum with some of the best Goldies parading across the the court. From the sensational sweep, the astonishing back to back and the very rare three-peat. With the likes of Rey Evangelista, Rudolf Belmonte, Siot Tanquincen, Rudolf Belmonte, Estong Ballesteros, Edmund Reys, Gerald Francisco, Dennis Espino and more, the tigers has clawed their way back as contender.

I still remember the last cahmpionship way back in 1998 when the Tiger's were ousted by a last three pointer by Dino Aldeguer at the cuneta astrodome. It started the Tiger's title drought of sort. * Years passed by and the players came and go and the ever-mighty Captain Tiger- Aric Del Rosario failed to bring the Goldies back in their former glory.

After a change in the Coaching Staff and after a complete overhaul in the Tiger's bench and front-liners, no one expected the resilience and ferocity that they displayed during the 69th season. After being seeded one of the lower tier players, the Tiger's even had a 2-4 Card during the first round. And when the second round concluded the sudden surge of the Tiger's hunger for winning re-emerged. From an individual's standpoint no one could expect the Tiger's to even survived the first round. With most of them playing 1-3 positions. The Tiger's main offensive behemoth "Cruz" made a big difference. The young Center Forward plowed thru the bests of the team's defenses.

During the final four we were even ranked no.4 behind NU and UE. With an EX-Champion and Powerhouse Teams (Ateneo and UE) it was an uphill task that the Tiger's finished with a bang. After disposing of the Recto Based warriors, the Tigers went on to forge a classic showdown that would go down the history books. With a heart breaking loss in Game 1 the Tiger came back Clawing and Biting their way, tearing the Eagles apart with an impressive 16 point beating of the Kalayaan based dribblers. Two days after the stage was set for an unforgettable Final Game 3 that went to an overtime. The dramatic finale showed the Tiger's true strength of actually grinding it until the fat lady sings. As the final buzzer sounded I cant help but be overwhelmed and be teary eyed as the whole floor of the Araneta Coliseum was swarming with UST's Black, Gold and White clad supporters.

During the final hymn a nostalgic sense of pride was felt by everyone especially me. The King's are back in their rightful places and the Dynasty shall rise again!

Animo Tigers! Beat Ateneo!

Black Gold Black White