FAR Eastern University (FEU) displayed the end-game composure to weather the gutsy run of University of Santo Tomas (UST) to hang on for a 75-64 win in Game One of Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
The Tamaraws held the Growling Tigers to just one field goal in the final six minutes of the contest and thwarted the rally of UST to grab a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three championship series.
FEU can wrap it up on Saturday and claim its 20th UAAP crown.
The Tamaraws’ Big Three of Mike Tolomia, Roger Pogoy and Mac Belo delivered accordingly for Head Coach Nash Racela but the contributions of Prinze Orizu and Russel Escoto were also crucial in the series opener, as FEU finally beat the Growling Tigers this season after getting swept in the elimination round.
“We had lapses at the start of the game the reason they [UST] got the momentum but because of our defense, we were able to get back in the game,” said Racela, who drew 15 points from Roger Pogoy and 14 from Tolomia.
“This team is an underrated team in defense but the players worked hard on defense and it showed today,” Racela added.
Belo, who hit the game-winner in the Tamaraws’ 76-74 win over Ateneo de Manila in their Final Four encounter, added 13 points and 13 rebounds for FEU, which last won a crown in 2005.
Escoto chipped in 12 markers and Orizu added 10 points on four-of-four shooting, including a putback slam in the Tamaraws’ decisive run in the final six minutes of the game.
After trailing by as much as 14 points in the second half, the top seed UST, behind Ferrer and Abdul, unleashed an 11-4 exchange to start the fourth period to turn a 51-57 deficit into a 62-61 lead with 5:55 remaining.
But Tolomia followed up his own miss to spark a momentum-swinging 14-0 assault to grab a commanding 75-62 advantage with less than a minute left in the game.
John Sheriff ended the UST’s scoring drought with a jumper, but the Growling Tigers did not have enough time to mount another comeback.
“The series is not yet over,” said Racela as his Tamaraws were also up 1-0 in the finals against National University last season but lost the next two games.
“I hope it’s a good reminder to stay humble and continue to work hard and get one more win,” he added.
Karim Abdul paced UST with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Kevin Ferrer added 15. Ed Daquioag, the other member of the Growling Tigers’ own Big Three, struggled big time in Game One with just four points on 1-of-7 shooting from field. Daquioag also had four turnovers and fouled out in the game.
Louie Vigil, the hero in UST’s Final Four win over the Bulldogs, had only eight markers on 4-of-14 shooting from the floor.
FEU dominated the rebounds, 56-32, with the Tamaraws collaring 22 offensive boards.
“[Dominating the board] helped us a lot in this game,” Belo said. “We helped each other to get those rebounds and helped us in our transition plays.”
Image credits: Nonie Reyes