University of Santo Tomas went undefeated in the elimination round of the inaugural Pinoyliga Global Invitational Cup and secured the first finals berth to be played Sunday, March 30, at the Enderun Colleges gym in Taguig City.

Flexing its might and showing no rust in its very first tournament this season following a Final Four stint in the UAAP last December, UST made it look easy with a 4-0 record in this Pinoyliga tournament, which had an international flavor for the first time with two visiting teams from Asia and the US.

UST opened its campaign with an 88-75 win over Nagoya Gakuin University from Japan as guard Kyle Paranada scored 14 points last Tuesday, and then the Tigers followed it up with a 72-64 victory against University of the East with forward Nic Cabañero and guard Forthsly Padrigao both dropping 14 points apiece last Wednesday.

The next day, the España-based team downed Emilio Aguinaldo College 87-69 as Angelo Crisostomo and Mark Llemit scored 13 points each, before UST closed it out with a 98-66 triumph on the US-based Fil-Am Nation select as Peter Osang had a double-double 18 points and 11 rebounds last Friday.

UE, which sports a 2-1 record, is playing the visiting Nagoya at posting time. A victory by the Red Warriors will allow the team of new coach Chris Gavina to face the Tigers in the one-game Finals.

However, a win by Nagoya will force a three-way tie for second to fourth places together with the Red Warriors and the Generals. To determine the second finals spot, a quotient system will be applied.

UST coach Pido Jarencio said he is satisfied with the way they are starting their buildup for the UAAP Season 88 this year, although he understands they are still very far from getting to where he wants his team as far as having the chemistry and character as a unit.

“We are doing good so far, considering that Pinoyliga is our first tournament following the UAAP,” said Jarencio, whose team made the Final Four for the first time in years during Season 87 of the UAAP but lost to eventual champion University of the Philippines.

“There are still things that we want to introduce for the coming season, and tournaments like this will be very important to our team. We’ll continue to work to improve our team,” added Jarencio.

In women’s action, the Lady Tigers have also secured a spot in the Finals with a similar perfect 4-0 card and will face the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) All-Star team.