MANILA, Philippines—Mike Tolomia buried a steback jumper with 47.2 seconds to go as Far Eastern University triumphed in another squeaker, this time over La Salle, 48-46, Sunday in the 75th UAAP men’s basketball competition at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Tolomia stepped up to the plate, with the Tamaraws’ two guards being hounded by the Green Archers’ pesky defense, and converted the game clincher off an isolation for his squad’s second victory sans a loss.
“They really had their defense focused on our backcourt (RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo), so I told Tolomia to use the isolation of their weakest link of defense,” said coach Bert Flores.
The second-year guard chipped in seven points for FEU while only Romeo finished in double digits with 10, along with five boards, in such a low-scoring affair.
Garcia, who despite not being able to get his groove going all game long, sank two free throws, which knotted the game at 46 paving the way for crucial Tolomia’s bucket.
The Tamaraws, who also escaped with a victory with just a slim margin over University of Santo Tomas, are now one of the two teams that remain undefeated early in the season.
The Green Archers met their first setback after a 2-0 start to the season, as they missed on chances to snatch the victory in the final minute.
Guard Almond Vosotros had a good look at the basket but failed to get the bounce on a potential game winning trey at the buzzer.
La Salle built a 25-19 lead in the first half, but couldn’t manage to peel away despite FEU’s abysmal shooting from the field.
No Green Archer finished in double digits but Vosotros, Yutien Andrada, Jovet Mendoza and Norbert Torres had eight points apiece while rookie Jeron Teng struggled throughout the game.