CLAIMING that it is still a work in progress, Far Eastern University goes for a quarterfinal slot today against Arellano in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Far Eastern coach Bert Flores thinks his team remains far from its ideal form but the Tamaraws are slight favorites to extend their winning streak to five in the Group B match at 5:15 p.m.
“We still have to work on our ball-sharing and to involve more players in our offense,” Flores said of his Tamaraws (4-1), who are running second behind National University (8-0).
San Sebastian (3-2), also on a roll, shoots for a fourth straight victory versus Emilio Aguinaldo College (2-4) at 3:30 p.m.
Adamson (2-3) and St. Benilde (1-4), meanwhile, take the floor at 1:45 p.m.
The Tamaraws are coming off a 69-52 triumph over the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers last week where guard Terrence Romeo drilled 17 points.
“Last year, our problem was rebounding,” said Flores. “We’re doing okay with that, but we still have to work on our defense.”
Like the Tamaraws, the Stags also claim they still have more work to do following a scrambling 78-72 triumph over Lyceum.
The Stags have been relying heavily on Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang, who combined for 50 points and 30 rebounds in their recent win over the Pirates in the tournament presented by Bostik Philippines Inc. in cooperation with Total Philippines Corp. and major sponsors Vulcaseal, Meralco, NLEX Road Warriors, Nature’s Spring, TMS Ship Agencies, Inc., KIA Motors, Bayo, BDO, Molten and Oxycan.
“The players should learn from this experience,” said Stags coach Topex Robinson. “Despite having star players in the team, if the players do not follow the system, we can still lose.” With a report from Jan Ballesteros