KEVIN FERRER’S torrid shooting display in the third period kept University of Santo Tomas’s (UST) season alive.
Ferrer unloaded 24 of his 29 points in the third canto in a sizzling performance to lift the Growling Tigers to a 62-56 win over Far Eastern University (FEU) in Game Two and tied their best-of-three championship series of Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippine (UAAP) men’s basketball on Saturday at the jampacked Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 6-foot-5 forward outscored the whole FEU team in the third period but his teammates also did a decent job of sustaining the energy as the Tamaraws threatened to steal the game, taking a 54-50 lead with five minutes left but UST ended the game with a 12-2 assault to send the series to a knockout Game Three on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I’m thankful to my teammates for giving me the confidence. They look for me and I thanked them for giving me their trust,” said Ferrer, who hit his first nine attempts in the third period. Ferrer also had 10 rebounds in 30 solid minutes. Karim Abdul added 11 points, while Ed Daquioag, who was named the league’s Most Improved Player earlier, bounced back from a four-point performance in Game One and netted 10 markers although he shot 3-of-13 from the field.
“In Game One, we did not enjoy the game. I told the players just to enjoy the game at the same time play defense,” Growling Tigers Head Coach Bong de la Cruz. “We followed our game plan in Game One but we did not enjoy the game. We did not also have a mental toughness in that game after taking the lead.”
And Ferrer showed what’s mental toughness was all about as UST, facing elimination, drew strength from his sizzling performance in the third quarter to shit the momentum to the Espana-based team.
After a poor first half, Ferrer had 24 of UST’s 26 points in the first seven minutes of the game, spiked by six three three-pointers as the Growling Tigers turned a 21-30 halftime deficit into a 47-37 advantage.
The Tamaraws, who drew the first blood in the series with a 75-64 win, cut the lead to 41-47 entering the fourth period and unleashed a 13-3 run capped y Raymar Jose’s three straight field goal to take a 54-50 lead with 5:50 remaining. But UST kept its compsure as de la Cruz turned to Daquioag and Abdul in unloading an 8-0 rampage for a 58-54 lead with 30.5 ticks left. Kent Lao drew a huge offensive foul from FEU’s Roger Pogoy in the next play, leading to two more free throws from Abdul and the Growling Tigers forced a no-tomorrow contest on Wednesday.
Mark Belo led the Tamaraws with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Pogoy added 12. Mike Tolomia, the other part of FEU’s Big Three had a horrific shooting game, missing all of his 15 attempts from the floor. Tolomia finished with seven points, all at the 15-foot line.
FEU also won Game One of last season’s finals but dropped the next two to eventual champion National University.
“We thought we have a chance to win the game but we did not shoot well,” said Tamaraws Head Coach Nash Racela, whose wards shot 16-of-59 in the game including a 4-of-23 stint from beyond the arc.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes