Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Far Eastern University pounced on a depleted University of the East side, 81-65, to claim its first win in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tamaraws improved to a 1-1 slate after losing their season opener against University of the Philippines, 61-55, while the Red Warriors dropped to 0-2.
UE also suffered a big blow after losing wingman Kris Pagsanjan to a knee injury late in the third quarter.
Without Pagsanjan, the Tamaraws immediately went into attack mode at the start of the fourth going on an 8-0 run to build a 66-53 lead.
FEU pushed the envelope further with LJ Gonzales finding Xyrus Torres for the open three-pointer for a 73-58 lead midway through the fourth.
Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela said that his team didn’t have the luxury of adding a major talent in its roster and even had one graduate in Arvin Tolentino.
What the Tamaraws can do, Racela said, is to outwork their opponents.
“All the teams are stacked, and we’re one of the teams who, instead of acquiring talent, lost players due to graduation for this season,” said Racela in Filipino. “We don’t have the skill so we have to make up for it with hard work.”
Filling in for FEU’s scoring punch is Wendell Comboy who had 24 points while LJ Gonzales filled the stat sheets with 14 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.
Alex Diakhite had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Red Warriors.