FEU-D, UST exit NBA Rising Stars Invitational after group-stage losses

UAAP champions Far Eastern University-Diliman and the University of Santo Tomas bowed out of the 2026 NBA Rising Stars Invitational after falling in their respective winner-take-all group-stage matches on Thursday at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.

Both Philippine representatives opened the tournament with convincing victories. The Baby Tamaraws overwhelmed Singapore's Hwa Chong Institution, 89-24, on Tuesday, while the Junior Growling Tigresses rolled past Mongolia's Royal International School, 75-45.

However, neither team was able to sustain its momentum in the decisive group games.

The reigning UAAP girls' champions from UST absorbed a narrow 81-78 defeat to Australia's Rowville Secondary College, while FEU-D's titleholders in the boys' division fell to Japan's Tottori Johoku High School, 81-75.

The Junior Growling Tigresses nearly forced overtime after trimming the deficit to three in the closing seconds. Trailing 81-75 with 15 seconds left, Sofia Petalcorin buried a three-pointer to keep UST within striking distance.

Rhiane Perez then came up with a steal on the ensuing possession but missed a fast-break layup. Lea Pinuela grabbed the offensive rebound, but UST ran out of time before getting another shot off.

In the boys' division, the Baby Tamaraws mounted a late rally after trailing by nine points with under two minutes remaining. A putback by JJ Dagcutan off a missed shot by JB Cagurungan cut the deficit to 79-75 with 17 seconds left.

FEU-D, however, could not complete the comeback as Dwyne Enriquez missed two crucial free throws, while Tottori Johoku's Yuki Yamasaki calmly knocked down his foul shots to seal the victory.

Petalcorin and Pinuela paced UST with 16 points each. Perez added eight points and 12 rebounds, while Lhian Arabi contributed seven points and 13 boards.

Rowville leaned on Tiedore Puoch, who erupted for 33 points and 19 rebounds. Vanessa Tavete added a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Bridgette Kata chipped in 10 points and 12 boards.

For FEU-D, JB Cagurungan and Prince Cariño scored 16 points apiece, with Cariño also grabbing eight rebounds. JA Lopez added 10 points.

Genji Fukumoto powered Tottori Johoku with 22 points, including five three-pointers, while Philemon Talmon dominated inside with 20 points and 23 rebounds.

In their opening victory over Hwa Chong Institution, Cagurungan and Cariño led the Baby Tamaraws with 22 and 21 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Perez posted 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead UST past Royal International School, while Jesabel Anacan added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament opener.