MANILA -- Kent Pastrana announced her return to the UAAP in emphatic fashion, as she led University of Santo Tomas to a huge 63-46 victory over University of the East in their first game of Season 86, Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Pastrana, the Season 82 Rookie of the Year, fired 20 points and brought down 10 rebounds for the Growling Tigresses in her first UAAP game since 2019.

Her eagerness to make up for lost time was evident right from the start as she scored 12 points on the back of four three-pointers in the first half.

“Of course, everyone is expecting a lot from Kent,” said coach Haydee Ong. “Coming from the pandemic, ngayon lang uli siya nakalaro (after) four years. I think she needs control pa, a little bit, kasi medyo gigil pa lahat ng players ko today. Bibigyan ko ng muscle relaxant later.”

Trailing by three points at the end of the third quarter, the Growling Tigresses unleashed a 26-6 run, led by Tantoy Ferrer's nine points in the final frame, to secure the victory.

“I told the girls that ginagaya ata nila si Coco Martin – nagpapabugbog muna tapos bago maglalaro nang maayos,” said Ong. “I think it’s good ngayon nangyari ‘to sa amin. We have so many learnings after this. We’ll bounce back and play better the next game.”

Ferrer followed Pastrana's lead by scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Rachelle Ambos contributed 10 points to the Growling Tigresses’ cause.

UST will return to action this Wednesday against Adamson University at 9 a.m. at Adamson Gym.

Dianne Pegrosa was the bright spark for the Lady Warriors, producing 13 points and nine rebounds, while Minslie Paule contributed nine points and seven rebounds.

Assistant coach Darren Torre took charge of UE as head coach Aileen Lebornio is on national team duty at the 19th Asian Games in China.

UE will look to bounce back against the University of the Philippines at 1 p.m. also at Adamson Gym.

The Scores:

UST (63) - Pastrana 20, Ferrer 17, Ambos 10, Soriano 6, Tacatac 4, Villasin 3, Santos 3, Serrano 0, Dionisio 0, Bron 0, Danganan 0, Ly 0, Maglupay 0, Amatong 0.

UE (46) - Pedregosa 13, Paule 9, Delig 7, Burgos 6, Lorena 6, Kone 3, Dela Rosa 2, Del Carmen 0, Ruiz 0, Ronquillo 0, Yanez 0, Anastacio 0.

Quarterscores: 18-15, 32-28, 37-40, 63-46.