AFTER rolling past fancied teams, Far Eastern University got a surprisingly huge challenge from winless Adamson.
“We had to put direction to what we were doing [in the final seconds],” said FEU coach Nash Racela, after the No. 1 Tamaraws narrowly escaped the gutsy Falcons, 64-60, Sunday in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mike Tolomia knocked in the go-ahead triple, 60-58, with 41.8 ticks left, before Roger Pogoy and Mac Belo buried the buffer free throws in the closing seconds to tow the Tamaraws to a pace-setting fifth win in six games.
“I was confident with my shot,” said Tolomia, who delivered the game’s biggest twinner despite a sprained ankle.
Just like the Tamaraws, La Salle had to grind it out in the end game for a 71-64 victory over the pesky University of the East.
LA SALLE’S Jeron Teng pivots off UE’s Edison Batiller as Edgar Charcos hits the floor in yesterday’s game. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Jeron Teng carried La Salle early before rookie Andrei Caracut took over in the final quarter, where the Archers survived a late Warriors fightback that trimmed their 17-point buffer to just 64-59.
“UE kept battling until the very last minute,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler. “Great effort on the part of the boys, for not giving up until the final second.”
Teng finished with 16 points and Caracut poured in 11 of his 16 in the final quarter.
The Falcons, winless in six outings, grabbed the lead for the last time, 58-57, on a Joseph Nalos layup with 49.9 seconds left.
The scores:
First Game
LA SALLE 71—Teng 16, Caracut 16, Muyang 11, Torres 8, Torralba 7, Perkins 6, Sargent 5, Navarro 2, Rivero 0, Tratter o.
UE 64—Abanto 14, De Leon 12, Charcos 8, Varilla 7, Palma 5, Penuela 5, Javier 4, Derige 3, Batiller 2, Gagate 2, Yu 2, Manaang 0, Sta. Ana 0.
Quarters: 17-16, 32-26, 51-41, 71-64
Second Game
FEU 64—Ru. Escoto 11, Belo 10, Tolomia 10, Pogoy 9, Iñigo 8, Jose 5, Arong 4, Tamsi 3, Ri. Escoto 2, Orizu 2, Dennison 0, Eboña 0, K. Holmqvist 0, S. Holmqvist 0, Trinidad 0.
ADAMSON 60—Sarr 26, Nalos 9, Tungcab 7, Escalambre 6, Bernardo 2, Garcia 2, Margallo 2, Ng 2, Ochea 2, Polican 2, Camacho 0, Villanueva 0.
Quarters: 13-11, 27-20, 48-45, 64-60