Tamaraws fend off Falcons as Racela gauges team’s progress

Far Eastern University coach Olsen Racela had the Adamson game in his radar to see where the Tamaraws are in their buildup for the upcoming UAAP season.

So far, so good.

The Tamaraws had a big second quarter to beat the Falcons, 75-64, for their fourth win in the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup on Tuesday.

“I was looking forward to those match-ups against UAAP teams because that’s the time where you can really gauge where you are in terms of your preparation,” Racela told reporters after FEU rose to 4-1.

Racela got the result he wanted but he wasn’t all too pleased with how his players performed especially in the last two quarters.

“I think we played well during the first half but there were a lot of mental lapses in the second half that Adamson was able to capitalize and take advantage of.”

It was a collective effort by the Tamaraws, who had eight players scoring at least six points led by Prince Orizu.

Orizu finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and eight rebounds while Jasper Parker had nine points and three assists. Arvin Tolentino and Barkley Ebona chipped in eight points each.

FEU also did its job on the defensive end, limiting Adamson to just 36 percent shooting from the field.

Falcons forward Sean Manganti led all scorers with 20 points. Adamson dropped to 2-1.