Far Eastern University stunned Ateneo, 63-60, to stretch its winning streak to three games Wednesday in the in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Ending their first round in a hot streak, the Tamaraws gained a share of the second place and tied the Blue Eagles at 5-2 at the end of the first round.
Hubert Cani gave FEU a 61-56 lead with a ballsy three from the left wing with 1:16 left in the game but the Blue Eagles scrambled back to make it a three-point game, 61-58, after Mike Nieto’s layup a few seconds later.
The Tamaraws then got a massive break with Jasper Parker coming away with the ball after a mad scramble and finding Richard Escoto for the open layup that gave FEU the 63-58 lead with 29.1 seconds left.
FEU head coach OIsen Racela gave credit to his role players Rey Biernes and Axel Iñigo, who stepped up in the absence of Arvin Tolentino who was suspended for one game after his disqualifying foul on Adamson’s Sean Manganti in the Tamaraws’ previous game.
“We played Ateneo without our top scorer, I want to give credit to my players because although we didn’t have a good start against Ateneo we still came back into the game,” said Racela.
Ateneo had one last chance for the tie but Adrian Wong missed his last ditch triple as the buzzer sounded
Cani led FEU’s offense with 12 points with five rebounds, and six assists while Parker added nine points and eight boards.
Iñigo and Biernes both had eight points for the Tamaraws.
Angelo Kouame led Ateneo with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks while Raffy Verano, Thirdy Ravena, and Nieto all had eight points apiece.
Adamson, which got handed its first loss by FEU, remained at the top spot with a 5-1 card.
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