FEU battles sweet-shooting UST; NU faces UP

MANILA, Philippines—A week after playing what coach Glenn Capacio described as Far Eastern University’s best game yet, the Tamaraws shoot for a seven-game sweep of the first round in the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament Saturday.   The Tamaraws, whose perfect 6-0 record is anchored mainly on  second-year guard RR Garcia, battle the  streaky shooting University of Santo Tomas Tigers at 4 p.m. at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.   “We have to extend our defense up to the three-point area,” said Capacio, who cited the Tigers’ penchant for triples as the Tamaraws’ main concern.   “It won’t be easy. UST has been playing well. I think they’re the No. 1 team, percentage-wise, in three-point shooting. We have to play good defense at the perimeter.”    National U, toting a 2-4 record, also aims to wrap up its first-round assignment with a victory against the winless University of the Philippines at 2 p.m.   The Tamaraws are coming off a 74-65 triumph over the Adamson Falcons last Sunday, where the title-favorites recorded the highest shooting clip in seven years at 57.4 percent.   Another victory today will match the Tamaraws’ 7-0 start in 2005, the same year FEU won its last championship.   At the other end of the standings are the winless Maroons, who absorbed their sixth straight setback, a 78-53 lopsided decision, against defending champion Ateneo last Thursday.    A UP loss will duplicate the Maroons’ embarrassing 0-7 first-round record in 2007, the year they dropped all 14 elimination games.   Aside from Garcia leading the Tamaraws anew in their last game, Aldrech Ramos delivered with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Cameroonian Pipo Noundou posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.   The Tigers, running fifth with three wins and the same number of losses, managed to stay competitive behind their crew’s sizzling shooting led by Clark Bautista.   UST coach Pido Jarencio, though, expects Jeric Fortuna and Jeric Teng to rebound after both shot only two points each in their Sunday setback, 61-53, against La Salle.   The Bulldogs, meanwhile, aim to recover from back-to-back losses, the last an 82-65 rout against the Blue Eagles. Photo by Jan Dizon