FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY (FEU) had little trouble dispatching Adamson University, 82-69, on Wednesday to move a win shy of clinching a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four of Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The victory was the ninth straight for a 10-1 (won-lost) league-leading record for the Tamaraws.
Despite that, Tamaraws Head Coach Nash Racela said his team has yet to peak and improve on several aspects of their game.
“We’re close to peaking. I hope we peak at the right time,” said Racela, who duplicated their 64-60 victory over the Soaring Falcons in the first round.
It was not surprising that the more talented Tamaraws dictated the tempo from the get go, leading by as many as 16 points before Adamson University made its only run in the fourth period, a 14-2 assault to close in at 64-68 with a little over six minutes remaining.
Racela did not call a time-out and instead let his players regain control of the game.
“I want to hold them responsible for that Adamson run and they were able to do that and, suddenly, we got the big lead again,” he added.
Russel Escoto, RR Pogoy and Prince Orizu asserted their might in the shaded lane, as the Tamaraws responded with a 12-0 blast capped by Reymar Jose’s follow-up to put the game in bed, 80-64, three minutes left in the contest.
At 10-1, FEU needs to win one of its remaining three games to secure the bonus in the Final Four. But again, Racela warned his players against complacency.
“Even with this win, we’re not there [top 2] yet,” said Racela, whose team has University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle and defending champion National University left in its schedule.
NU, meanwhile, stayed in the hunt for a Final Four berth after turning back De La Salle, 81-73, behind Jay Alejandro’s fourth-quarter explosion.
Alejandro had 17 points in the Bulldogs’ momentum-swinging 23-9 run to turn a 49-53 deficit into a 71-62 advantage with 3:20 left in the game.
The Green Archers countered with an 11-4 burst for a 73-75 count with 44.4 ticks left but Alfred Aroga completed a three-point play and hit two free throws to seal NU’s come-from-behind win for a 5-7 record.
“Proud of the boys on how they responded. Saw their resiliency and regrouped to get back in the game,” said NU Head Coach Eric Altamirano, who drew a career-high 25 points from Aroga.
Jeron Teng also finished with 25 points for the Green Archers, who dropped another heartbreaker and now lead the Bulldogs by just half a game for the No. 4 spot with 5-6 card.
Eight Tamaraws scored at least seven points, with Escoto leading the team with 13 points. Jose had 12 markers and Monbert Arong contributed big with seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Arong even had more rebounds than Adamson University ‘s 6-foot-8 Pape Sarr, who had 26 points and 22 rebounds in their first meeting. Sarr finished with only four points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes.
“We’re really focused on him. I put four to five guys on him,” Racela said.
Jerome Garcia led Adamson University with 16 points, while Joseph Nalos added 15 for the Soaring Falcons, who are already out of the tournament with a league-worst 2-10.
The loss denied Adamson University a first back-to-back victory in the tournament. The Falcons shocked the Green Archers, 75-74, in their last game.
Image credits: Alysa Salen