Tigers, Tams clash for all marbles Wednesday

AFTER letting title opportunities slip away in the last two years, University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University fight the final decisive battle for the season’s championship today in the winner-take-all match of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

The Tigers and the Tamaraws vow to leave everything on the floor when Game 3 tips off at 3:30 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena.

After all, both teams already know what’s it like to wallow in the what-ifs after painful Game 3 losses in the last two seasons.

The Tigers bowed to La Salle in overtime in the decider of the 2013 title series, while the Tamaraws blew a 1-0 series lead to National University last year.

With one team expected to go through that heartache again, both the Tigers and Tamaraws hope it won’t be them.

“We’re going all out,” said UST star Kevin Ferrer. “We’re giving it our all in this one game.”

FEU slotman Prince Orizu grabs the rebound off his UST counterpart Karim Abdul in Saturday’s Game 2 of the UAAP title series. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

“The goal is to have a different outcome,” said FEU coach Nash Racela. “[My players] are veterans. I’m sure they’ll come back stronger.”

The odds look even after two games, where both teams flashed their scoring firepower and defensive prowess.

So for UST coach Bong dela Cruz, the final showdown of the best-of-three series may all boil down to mind games.

“Everybody’s tired, so we need mental toughness in the end game,” said Dela Cruz.

FEU took Game 1 in a 75-64 decision where Mike Tolomia, Mac Belo and Roger Pogoy led the Tamaraws’ imposing charge.

But UST leveled the series with Kevin Ferrer exploding for 24 points in the third quarter of Game 2 to tow the Tigers to a 62-56 victory.

“Our game plan is to play good defense against FEU because they outrebound us every game,” said Dela Cruz.

The Tamaraws, though, hope to work on a few fixes after failing to sweep the Tigers.

Racela noted they nearly went all the way, despite shooting a measly 27.12 percent from the field and missing 15 of 35 free throws.

“Just looking at the stats, despite all those struggles, it was a very close game,” he said.

And it may just come down to another tight duel as pride and passion all get into the mix.