UAAP: Tamaraws trounce Warriors for first win

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Far Eastern University easily brushed off University of the East, 90-83, to claim its first win in the UAAP Season 80 seniors’ basketball tournament Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws, after losing to defending champion La Salle, 95-90, on Sunday, are now at 1-1 while the Red Warriors are yet to win after two matches.

FEU was off to a hot start and mounted a 19-point lead, 30-11, at the start of the second quarter and that early burst was enough for the Tamaraws to hold on until the final buzzer.

“That’s what we addressed after our loss to La Salle that we can’t allow ourselves to be down big in the earlier stages of the game,” said Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela in Filipino.

“We did fairly well last game but we were down big at the start and what happened today was the exact opposite of what happened last time.”

Ron Dennison paced FEU with 16 points while Prince Orizu put up 15 points and grabbed 16 boards.

The trio of Richard Escoto, Barkley Ebona and Arvin Tolentino had 11 points apiece to intensify the Tamaraws’ offensive fire.

Clark Derige had a game-high 22 points to lead the Red Warriors in the losing effort.