Far Eastern University won a third straight game in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup on Tuesday after surviving Jose Rizal University’s late charge, 87-85, even as National University finally broke through at the expense of Emilio Aguinaldo College.
The Tamaraws used an eight-point lead to cushion the Heavy Bombers frenetic finish inside the final 1:40, while the Bulldogs carved out a 96-84 win over the Generals at Flioil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Far Eastern coach Olsen Racela let his boys play out the final 1:40 without suing for time, using it as a learning experience for his players for the coming UAAP season.
“We didn’t call time even during the last turnover so we can learn from this,” explained Racela. “We can do this now but not in the UAAP. This is for us to learn.”
Both sides battled through 10 deadlocks and 14 lead changes, with the last tie coming at the 5:28 mark after Andrei Dulalia scored for the Bombers.
But Far Eastern scored the next five points and the Tamaraws gamely held on to deal the Bombers a third straight defeat.
In a later game, Letran came up with a solid performance to hold off Lyceum, 78-74, behind gutsy performances of Bong Quinto and Larry Muyang for win No. 2.