The huge damage the Tamaraws’ unheralded players wrought even in a pressure-packed game was the key factor in Far Eastern University’s Game 1 win in the UAAP men’s basketball championship series last Saturday.
Outside the star tandem of Mac Belo and Mike Tolomia, the Tamaraws also leaned on the likes of Roger Pogoy and Achie Iñigo in crucial stretches in hacking out a pulsating 75-70 victory over National University that moved them within a win of clinching the title.
“What’s good for us is other players are stepping up,” said FEU coach Nash Racela. “They don’t have experience in the Finals but they played like veterans.”
Before Belo buried a clutch basket with just 44 seconds left, the Tamaraws had Pogoy taking charge in a third-quarter outburst to finish with 14 points. And Iñigo delivered all of his 12 points in the second half.
Backup guards Ron Dennison and Francis Tamsi, along with big men Anthony Hargrove and Raymar Jose, delivered the intangibles and some big buckets as well in the Tamaraws’ late surge.
“They shot well from the outside,” NU coach Eric Altamirano said of the Tamaraws, who even trailed his Bulldogs by as many as 12 points in the first half.
“They made their shots, most of them in the crucial parts of the game. But the key was the third quarter when we allowed them to score 25 points. We won in all the quarters except the third. We have to take a look at that, see why it happened.”
For Racela, it happened because the Tamaraws returned to their core strength.
“Team play, that’s what we always emphasize,” said Racela.
Hoping to draw big performances again from the whole crew, the Tamaraws go for the crown in Game 2 of the best-of-three series at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tamaraws hold the league record for the most number number of championships in the sport with 19, but have yet to snap a near-decade drought as their last title came in 2005 with a team bannered by current pro star Arwind Santos.
“The most important game [in a best-of-three series] is the first, but we’ll still treat the next game as a do-or-die,” said Racela.