FEU subdues UE; Romeo stars with 24 points

MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University withstood University of the East, 83-78, to recover from the nullification of its last victory Saturday in the 75th UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Terrence Romeo, for the fourth time this season, went past the 20-point mark and finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists for FEU, which improved to 8-3.

The Tamaraws should’ve been tied with University of Santo Tomas at second place, but their victory over National University was nullified.

Romeo poured most of his output in the first half and nearly ran out of gas in the last two quarters where the Tamaraws took over the game.

But it was the star guard’s back-to-back three pointers midway the payoff period which virtually sealed the victory for the Tamaraws.

“We were able to stop their fastbreak and controlled the rebounds,” said head coach Bert Flores as his squad managed to slightly outrebound the Red Warriors, 50-44.

Cebu-native Roger Pogoy also provided quality minutes for the Tamaraws with 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

UE, whose losing streak was halted under seasoned coach Boycie Zamar, managed to trim the lead in the final minute and threatened to snatch the game anew.

Roi Sumang and Gene Belleza, once again, teamed up to carry the scoring chores for the Red Warriors with two straight treys to bring them to within four, 77-81.

But they just didn’t have the guns to pull through as UE, which even held the lead in the first half, succumbed to its ninth loss of the season.

Sumang, despite being a marked man, still chalked up a game-high 27 points along with six assists while the graduating Belleza added 18 points.