Garcia buzzer shot lifts Tams

UNIVERSITY of the East sentinel Roi Sumang drives off State U’s Cris Ball in yesterday’s other hotly contested match. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

RR Garcia nailed a buzzer-beating layup following a mad scramble as Far Eastern University escaped with a 77-75 decision over National University yesterday to grab a share of second in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.

League officials reviewed the final shot several times before ruling that Garcia beat the buzzer by just a tenth of second.

“It was another heart-attack game,” said FEU coach Bert Flores after the Tamaraws joined idle University of Santo Tomas at 8-3 while pushing the Bulldogs down to fifth at 6-5. “Overall, we had good execution in the endgame and good ball movement.”

The Bulldogs, though, signified their intention to put the game under protest last night. Junel Baculi, NU’s representative to the league board, said the school will endorse the complaint, which should be filed within 24 hours.

NU’s Ray Parks swiped the ball from Garcia with less than 10 seconds left, but the Bulldogs lost possession in a scramble that saw FEU’s Roger Pogoy eventually getting hold of the ball and tossing it to Garcia on the other end.

It was a heart-stopping playdate as Chris Javier also drained a buzzer-beating triple to lift University of the East to a pulsating 79-76 victory over University of the Philippines in an earlier match pitting teams already out of semifinal contention.

Roi Sumang dished out the key assist to Javier, whose game-winner from the left corner turned out to be his first three-point attempt in his UAAP career.

Javier, the 6-foot-5 sophomore center, bailed out the Warriors after the Maroons rallied from a 59-70 deficit to tie the game at 76.

Terrence Romeo paced the Tamaraws with 20 points, including a key triple that gave the Tamaraws a 75-73 advantage with 53 seconds left. Russel Escoto, stepping up in the absence of the suspended Arvie Bringas, added 18 markers and eight boards.

The scores:

First Game

UE 79—Sumang 20, Javier 20, Santos 10, Belleza 9, Sumido 8, Duran 6, Alberto 2, Hernandez 2, Flores 2, Villarias 0, Olayon 0, Galanza 0.

UP 76—Silungan 16, Ball 14, Padilla 12, Soyud 10, Gamboa 8, Manuel 6, Lopez 4, Hipolito 4, Montecastro 2, Mbah 0, Romero 0, Gallarza 0, Asilum 0.

Quarters: 17-19, 37-40, 66-58, 79-76

Second Game

FEU 77—Romeo 20, Escoto 18, Hargrove 13, Garcia 10, Mendoza 7, Pogoy 6, Cruz 3, Sentcheu 0, Iñigo 0, Belo 0.

NU 75—Parks 26, Alolino 18, Mbe 14, Javillonar 7, Villamor 6, Roño 2, De Guzman 2, Singh 0, Rosario 0, Neypes 0.

Quarters: 16-20, 35-29, 51-58, 77-75