Pogoy, Belo lead charge as Tamaraws fend off Maroons

Roger Pogoy. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Far Eastern University went on a frenetic fourth quarter run, pulling away from University of the Philippines for a 68-57 win in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Roger Pogoy scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field that went with four blocks for the Tamaraws, who used an 18-2 charge to stretch their one-point edge to a 63-46 lead with 3:53 remaining.

Mac Belo had his fingerprints all over FEU’s telling run, scoring nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Tams improved to a league-best 8-1 record. The graduating forward also had 12 rebounds.

“We’re not thinking about it (Final Four) yet. Still we’re looking for improvements,” FEU head coach Nash Racela told reporters after his team moved closer to a return to the Final Four. “I think the last few days that’s something that we talked about as a team on how we can improve day to day.”

The Fighting Maroons found themselves in the thick of things, down by just a point, 45-44, with still 8:21 remaining before the Tamaraws made their run.

Diego Dario had 16 points for UP, which has now lost six of its last seven games to join University of the East in seventh place.

FEU regained a half-game lead in the standings over idle University of Santo Tomas, which aims to get back at defending champion National University and an eighth victory in the main game on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.