Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
University of Santo Tomas downed Far Eastern University anew, 78-70, to sweep their head-to-head battle in the elimination round of the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Growling Tigers won their first meeting, 76-74, and their latest win bumped them to .500 territory with a 4-4 record.
FEU held on to a slim 51-49 lead early in the fourth but that just fueled the Growling Tigers’ tenacity as they went on a game-changing 16-3 run to take a 65-54 after Zach Huang’s jumper with 3:55 left.
Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela was then, called for a technical foul with 2:01 left in the game after he challenged the referees for calling an offensive foul on his guard Alec Stockton.
“It’s so easy to coach these guys because they’re so connected, whatever you tell them to do they will,” said UST head coach Aldin Ayo in Filipino. “There’s no resistance on their part.”
“It’s a good thing they appreciate our efforts because they see the results and they trust us coaches even more.”
To make matters worse for FEU, Arvin Tolentino was slapped with his second straight disqualifying foul this season after his cheap shot on Huang with 15.9 seconds left.
Huang finished with a career-high 20 while grabbing six rebounds for the Growling Tigers, who won their third straight game.
Marvin Lee added 17 points with five assists for UST with Henri Subido tallying 14 points and Germy Mahinay putting up 10 points and eight boards.
Despite making less field goals than FEU, 25 to 30, the Growling Tigers made up for it from the foul line hitting on a 21-of-27 clip while the Tamaraws went 7-of-13 from the stripe.
Richard Escoto led the 5-3 Tamaraws with 12 points while Tolentino had 11 points and 11 rebounds before his exit.