Edison Batiller. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
University of the East came close to pulling off an upset against Far Eastern University.
But not quite.
FEU shellshocked UE in the fourth as the Tamaraws went on a 33-10 roll en route to a 92-81 victory.
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From multiple transition layups to several three-pointers, FEU destroyed UE’s 12-point, 71-59, third quarter lead and ruled the Red Warriors for its 4-1 record.
Rookie star Von Batiller said it was the three-pointers that killed the Red Warriors’ momentum in the fourth as their defense collapsed shot after shot the Tamaraws made.
“Once their three-pointers went in, it was over,” Batiller said. “We couldn’t recover and couldn’t rotate.”
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FEU started the fourth quarter with back-to-back threes as part of an early 7-0 run to trim the lead to 71-66.
Mac Belo then hit another three-pointer at the 3:06 mark of the game to put FEU up 86-75 during the Tamaraws’ 20-4 run.
“When they started shooting like that, they just came back,” Batiller said.
With Francis Tamsi shadowing him, Batiller was kept scoreless in the fourth quarter after making 18 points in the first three quarters.