UAAP: Tamaraws barely get back at Falcons

MAILA—Far Eastern University bucked an endgame meltdown to pull off a 62-61 decision over Adamson and grab solo third in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

RR Garcia knocked in all his 14 points in the second half, the last on a fastbreak with 45.7 seconds left that kept the Tamaraws afloat after they nearly blew a 15-point buffer, 41-26, in the third quarter.

An errant pass by FEU’s Terrence Romeo, who also had 14 points on top of seven rebounds, allowed Alex Nuyles to push the Falcons within a point with only 9.3 ticks remaining.

“We had errors in the endgame, we didn’t execute well, so I reminded the team that we can’t relax,” said Garcia, last season’s MVP, after the Tams snapped the Falcons’ four-game winning streak.

The Tams, who improved to 6-4 behind the 7-3 record of the Falcons, also drew an inspired 18-point, 10-rebound performance from Aldrech Ramos before he fouled out with a minute left in the game.

Earlier, National University routed University of the Philippines, 65-43, with Ray Parks coming up with another big game of 22 points, seven boards, four assists and a block.

The Bulldogs picked up their fourth win in 10 games while the Maroons remained at the basement with a 2-8 card.

UP finished with the lowest number of points in six years since the Bulldogs also posted 43 markers on Sept. 15, 2005.

“It was so hard to win,” said FEU coach Bert Flores, who avenged a 78-59 loss to Adamson in the first round. “We were playing good defense, but the players relaxed. So we really have to work on our consistency.”

Emmanuel Mbe had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds to help lift the Bulldogs up by as many as 30 points, 58-28, in the final period.

“The game plan was to really shut down (Mike) Silungan and (Jett) Manuel because they are the players who make it happen for them (Maroons),” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

Silungan and Manuel, who average a combined 23.5 markers, only had a bucket each for the Maroons, whose measly 13-point production at the break was also the lowest halftime score this season.

First Game
NATIONAL U 65—Parks 22, Mbe 17, Terso 7, Javillonar 6, Khobuntin 4, Villamor 2, Celda 2, Alolino 2, Singh 2, Ignacio 1, Neypes 0, Labing-isa 0, Celiz 0.
UP 43—Romero 7, Montecastro 6, Maniego 6, Juruena 6, Gamboa 5, Mbah 4, Gingerich 3, Silungan 2, Manuel 2, Gomez 2, Wong 0, Wierzba 0, Fortu 0.
Quarters: 17-6, 27-13, 48-26, 65-43
Second Game
FEU 62—Ramos 18, Romeo 14, Garcia 14, Tolomia 8, Escoto 4, Cruz 2, Exciminiano 2, Pogoy 0, Mendoza 0, Bringas 0, Knuttel 0.
ADAMSON 61—Nuyles 17, Camson 9, Alvarez 9, Lozada 8, Cañada 7, Brondial 6, Cabrera 4, Manyara 1, Petilos 0, Etrone 0, Colina 0.
Quarters: 14-12, 30-24, 47-39, 62-61