FOR THE last six seasons, Far Eastern University has dominated the early stages of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
But none of those strong starts translated into a championship. So this time, the Tamaraws hope to stay in top form all the way.
“We’re fortunate to win our first few games, but the number one thing that I’ve been telling them is consistency,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.
Off to another 4-0 start, the Tamaraws now hold a remarkable 21-3 slate, the combined win-loss record of their first four games in the last six years.
“Our players have been known as individualistic, so the biggest challenge is how to make them play as one unit,” said Racela. “But they’re really open to new things. They’re open to change.”
Hoping to lead the Tamaraws is former MVP RR Garcia, whose steady presence kept the Tamaraws together particularly in their last come-from-behind overtime triumph against La Salle, 83-79, over the weekend.
“I’m more comfortable now with the way our team is running,” said Garcia, the fifth-year guard who earned the Accel 3XVI UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Gatorade.
“Everyone now is involved, everyone is helping each other on court.”
Also unbeaten in women’s action, the Lady Tamaraws stretched their winning streak to four after surviving University of Santo Tomas’ furious rally, 52-51, at Filoil Flying V Arena over the weekend.
Camille Sambile fired 18 points, including the Lady Tamaraws’ last four points for a 52-40 advantage that withstood the Tigresses’ late push.
La Salle joined FEU at 3-0 after routing University of the Philippines, 59-39, while National University improved to 2-1 after a 63-57 decision of Adamson.
In juniors action, Hubert Cani collected 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as NU blasted UST, 81-56, to join idle La Salle Zobel on top at 3-0.
UP, though, had to go through four overtime periods to nip Adamson, 89-87, for its first win in three games.
Raymart Sablan finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds and Freddy Pajarillaga had 19 points and 17 boards as both came through in the clutch to forge the first two extra periods.
Jozhua General nailed a triple in the dying seconds to seal the fourth overtime, 82-82, while Josiah Chua also buried a trey that put the Junior Maroons ahead for good, 88-87.