Tams, Archers duel for No. 4

Far Eastern University pounced on weary Adamson University to forge a playoff for the last semifinal spot in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament.

The Tamaraws took advantage of a Falcons side playing without Jerrick Ahanmisi and Sean Manganti in carving out an 82-56 decision on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“We’re finally getting the breaks here in the second round,” said FEU coach Olsen Racela. “But like what’s said, we still have one game to play to make it to the Final Four”

The Tamaraws drew double-digit scoring from Wendell Comboy who had 11 and Hubert Cani and Arvin Tolentino who chipped in 10 points each.

But even after staving off elimination, Racela rued that they must take the harder route.

“If we took care of busines early on, we could’ve been in a better position,” he said in Filipino. “Right now, we have an opportunity—we have one more game. We just have to make the most out of it.”

FEU will play La Salle for the last Final Four spot this Wednesday 3:30 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jerom Lastimosa led the way for Adamson with 11 points and four rebounds.

According to Adamson coach Franz Pumaren, Manganti was nursing a sprained ankle while Ahanmisi was suffering from sore throat and fever. He remains optimistic that the pair will fully recover before taking on University of the Philippines on Saturday.

Sans their stars, Adamson trailed by as many as 34 points.

Earlier, National University leaned on graduating forward Troy Rike to keep University of the East’s win count to just one.

Rike saved the best for last, posting a career-best 17 points and 13 rebounds to help the Bulldogs (4-10) hand the Warriors their worst record (1-13) in the Final Four era with a 79-71 win.

“It was great to end the season with a win, obviously,” Rike said. “The whole team wished we had a better season than we did, but I think we have a lot of young guys and unfortunately I’m not going to be a part of it.”

UE’s Alvin Pasaol also capped off his final year with 20 points and 14 rebounds. His scoring norm of 24.4 is the most by any local since 2003.