UE whips FEU, keeps Final 4 hopes alive

MIKE Tolomia of FEU tackles the UE defense of Paul Varilla (left) and Chris Javier. August Dela Cruz

Fighting for survival, University of the East pulled off another shocker as the Warriors ripped the top-ranked Far Eastern University, 94-71, to stay in the Final Four hunt in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

For three quarters, the game looked nowhere near the 23-point final result  before the Warriors dropped a huge 26-1 bomb inside the last nine minutes that put them virtually out of reach, 90-65, from a 64-64  deadlock.

Bong Galanza exploded for a career-high 26 points on top of four assists and three steals, while Charles Mammie also bucked early foul trouble to finish with 18 points, all in the second half, on an impressive 8-of-11 shooting clip.

“So far, that’s the best we’ve played,” said coach Derrick Pumaren after the Warriors kept their semifinal hopes up with a 7-5 record. “The boys really showed their guts tonight. They refused to lose and they know we needed this to survive.”

Earlier, Alfred Aroga came up with another dominant outing as National University fanned its own Final Four bid with a 66-51 trampling of University of the Philippines.

“I told the boys we have to assert our identity in this game and it will all start in our defense,” said coach Eric Altamirano, whose Bulldogs also fell victim to the surging Warriors, 64-55, even without star guard Roi Sumang last week.

Benched last game for disciplinary reasons, Sumang made the most out of his return as he unloaded all his nine points in the fourth quarter that sparked the Warriors’ breakaway.

Sumang came off the bench as Dan Alberto, who added 10 points, started for the second straight game.

A spate of turnovers doomed the Tamaraws in the fourth quarter as they finished with a whopping total of 33.

The unexpected rout forced the Tamaraws to share top spot with idle Ateneo at 10-3.

The Bulldogs kept solo fourth with an 8-4 record, while ending the semifinal hopes of idle University of Santo Tomas Tigers (5-7), the runner-up in the last two seasons who last missed the Final Four in 2010.

“We’re still not out of the woods yet,” said Pumaren. “We’re still trying to stay alive. We were playing against the No. 1 team and we just had to show that we want to win more.”

Aroga collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while Gelo Alolino (nine points) and Troy Rosario (nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists) also helped fuel the Bulldogs’ early outburst.

The Bulldogs ripped their opponent apart early for a 29-17 advantage as the Maroons shot a pitiful 20 percent from the field in the first half.

With Glenn Khobuntin, Reden Celda and Rev Diputado also chipping in, the Bulldogs coasted for most of the second half and built leads as high as 25 points, 60-25.

The eliminated Maroons skidded to their 12th loss in 13 games.

The scores:
First Game
NU 66—Aroga 18, Alolino 9, Khobuntin 9, Rosario 9, Celda 5, Javelona 5, Celda 5, Perez 4, Diputado 3, Betayene 2, Alejandro 2, Yu 0, Neypes 0, Tansingco 0.
UP 51—Reyes 13, Asilum 11, Gallarza 9, Dario 8, Juruena 4, Vito 2, Moralde 2, Lao 2, Harris 0, Gingerich 0, Lim 0.
Quarters: 15-8, 29-17, 50-32, 66-51
Second Game
UE 94—Galanza 26, Mammie 18, Alberto 10, De Leon 9, Sumang 9, Javier 7, Varilla 5, Olayon 2, Arafat 2, Jumao-as 2, Palma 2,Hernandez 2, Guiang 0, Charcos 0, Cudal 0.
FEU 71—Belo 16, Iñigo 10, Tolomia 9, Hargrove 9, Cruz 8, Tamsi 6, Pogoy 5, Ugsang 5, Jose 3, Escoto 0, Lee Yu 0. Denila 0, David 0, Delfinado 0.
Quarters: 21-17, 44-37, 64-61, 94-71