Parks, Bulldogs test unscathed Tamaraws today
Even if Far Eastern University boasts a solid backcourt, coach Bert Flores said his Tamaraws have no player to match up with National University star Ray Parks.
This is the main concern of the pacesetting Tamaraws when they face Parks and the Bulldogs today hoping to stretch their winning streak in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament to five at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It will be tough,” said Flores. “Wala kaming pangtapat kay Ray Parks (We have no one to pit against him). NU also has tall wingmen.”
The Tamaraws, coming off their most convincing win yet, meet the Bulldogs at 4 p.m. after Ateneo, just a game behind FEU at 3-1, also tries to keep second against the winless University of the Philippines at 2 p.m.
“When you start the season, you just want to get off to a good start so if you stumble along the way, you have a cushion to work with,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.
“We don’t want to play catch up down the line. Right now, that’s the goal, to just get as many wins to get into the Final Four, particularly the top two.”
The Blue Eagles, who are bidding for a fifth straight crown, are coming off a 71-61 tripping of rival La Salle where the top trio of Greg Slaughter, Nico Salva and Kiefer Ravena starred anew.
FEU also had its reliable guards stepping up in its last outing as former MVP RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo teamed up for 37 points to lead the Tamaraws to a 92-66 rout of University of the East.
But Flores said his Tamaraws anticipate a tough time against Parks, the reigning MVP who leads the league in scoring with an average of 20.3 points in his first four games.
The Bulldogs also need to shake off a recent meltdown where they blew a 10-point advantage in the final quarter and took a 71-77 loss from University of Santo Tomas.
That painful loss pushed the Bulldogs down to a share of fourth with the Green Archers at 2-2.
The Maroons, still winless in three games, also came close to pulling an upset over Adamson where they rallied from 20 points down before falling short at 67-69.
