Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Far Eastern University took sole possession of the fourth spot in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament after tripping National University, 90-83, Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tamaraws scored their second straight win and improved to 3-2 while the Bulldogs dropped to fifth with a 2-3 card.
FEU head coach Olsen Racela praised his team’s offensive consistency as they were able to sustain their the momentum up until the final buzzer.
“It was a hard-fought game, and we needed this win badly,” said Racela who momentarily steered his team to the upper half of the ladder. “We didn’t start slow, and we were able to sustain our tempo for 40 minutes.”
The Tamaraws held a 12-point lead, 84-72, midway through the fourth but the Bulldogs managed to stage a late rally with Nico Abatayo capping off a 9-2 NU scoring run to cut the lead to 86-81 with 2:02 left.
Arvin Tolentino, who scored a career-high 23 points, restored balance for FEU banking home a layup over the outstretched arm of Issa Gaye to put the Tamaraws up 88-81 with 1:08 left in the game.
Axel Iñigo added 12 points to help FEU while Barkley Eboña had 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
J-Jay Alejandro had 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists to lead NU while Matthew Aquino added 13 points.
FEU outmuscled NU in the boards coming away with a 55-44 rebounding edge and a 24-14 margin in the offensive glass.