FEU bucks poor start to nip Adamson

MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University pulled off another escape this time at the expense of Adamson, 76-68, Sunday in the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Arvie Bringas scored all of his seven points in the last three minutes, including an undergoal stab that made it a two-possession game, 72-68, with 36.3 seconds left.

“Slow start kami, we expected the zone right away buti na lang we were able to convert our threes and finish strong,” said FEU head coach Bert Flores, whose squad improved to 7-2.

“Sabi sa ‘kin ni coach, fourth na, ito na yung time ko bumawi,” said Bringas, who also had seven rebounds.

Adamson looked primed for an upset even without the services of its starting center Rodney Brondial, who served a one-game suspension.

Terrence Romeo had 22 of his 27 points in the first half, most since former University of Santo Tomas forward Dylan Ababou unleashed 23 first-half points in 2009.

Romeo and Garcia took turns to keep FEU in the game. Garcia got his groove in the second half and even nailed the game-tying triple that quickly erased Adamson’s, 65-58 cushion it built with 4:56 left.

Romeo meanwhile, went berserk in the second quarter, hitting three straight triples that helped the Tamaraws regain the lead after trailing by as much as 10, 21-31.

Eric Camson notched 24 points and 13 rebounds while Jericho Cruz added 16 more but it wasn’t enough as the Falcons reeled to their sixth straight setback for a 1-8 record.