Mac Belo. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
FAR EASTERN University clinched the first UAAP Final Four berth, but that only meant the start of a new set of worries for coach Nash Racela.
“One of the concerns is the players losing interest,” said Racela. “The players want to be in the playoffs right away. But we still have four games left in the eliminations.”
Pushed to the limit in recent games, the Tamaraws had to go through the wringer again in their 71-67 escape over a gritty University of the East side Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“At least we find ways to win,” said Racela, after the Tamaraws secured the solo lead with a 9-1 record. “I think that helps us, especially the players, to get used to these kind of games.”
Mac Belo, who topscored with 16 points, helped the Tamaraws keep pace with the Warriors throughout the game before Roger Pogoy knocked in a crucial triple with 92 seconds left that gave them a 69-65 buffer.
Adamson shook up the Final Four race as the Falcons, although out of contention, came out in fighting form to pull off a huge upset over the La Salle Green Archers.
“We hope to build on this momentum going into the last three games,” coach Mike Fermin said after the Falcons rallied from 16 points down to shock the Archers, 75-74.
“I know we’re out of the Final Four, so we’ll just salvage whatever we can. We’ll just end the season where, at least, we’ll be respectable.”
The big upset muddled the playoff race as some of the bottom teams kept their semifinal hopes alive with the Green Archers slipping to fourth place at 5-5.
“We really worked for that,” said Papi Sarr, who unloaded 23 points, the last two on clutch free throws with 15 seconds left that turned out to be the marginal shots.
The Archers had two late chances but Prince Rivero—who towed them to their biggest lead, 59-43—missed a potential game-tying free throw with 8.5 ticks left while Andre Caracut also misfired on a last-gasp attempt.
“Coach gave us a lot of motivation, he told us not to give up until the end and that’s what we did today,” added the Cameroonian center who also hauled down 14 rebounds.
Adamson guard Joseph Nalos, who dropped 12 of his 20 points in the Falcons’ huge fourth-quarter rally, said he was also motivated after serving a one-game suspension.
The scores:
First Game
ADAMSON 75—Sarr 23, Nalos 20, Garcia J. 13, Capote 6, Fernandez 5, Bernardo 2, Garcia C. 2, Polican 2, Villanueva 2, Camacho 0, Escalambre 0, Miranda 0, Ochea 0, Tungcab 0.
LA SALLE 74—Rivero 23, Teng 22, Langston 8, Torres 7, Torralba 4, Caracut 3, Muyang 3, Perkins 3, Tratter 1, Go 0, Sargent 0.
Quarters: 16-19, 34-37, 48-59, 75-74
Second Game
FEU 71—Belo 16, Pogoy 12, Iñigo 11, Jose 8, Orizu 8, Escoto Ru. 6, Escoto Ri. 4, Tolomia 4, Arong 2, Comboy 0, Dennison 0, Tamsi 0, Trinidad 0.
UE 67—Batiller 13, Charcos 10, Varilla P. 10, Abanto 8, Derige 8, Varilla J. 7, Javier 5, Manalang 3, Palma 2, De Leon 1, Gonzales 0, Sta Ana 0.
Quarters: 18-19, 34-34, 53-55, 71-67