Tams down Falcons; Eagles nip Maroons

THIRDY Ravena of Ateneo splits the double team of Kyles Lao (left) and Rey Gallarza of UP yesterday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELACRUZ

Far Eastern University and Ateneo survived a huge scare from the cellar-dwellers to keep the top two spots in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Playing catch-up most of the game, the FEU Tamaraws staged a furious windup to dispose of pesky Adamson, 90-73, and claim the first Final Four berth with a league-best 10-2 record.

Achie Iñigo (18 points), Mike Tolomia (17) and Mac Belo (17 points and 12 rebounds) shone  for the Tamaraws, who dominated the last seven minutes with a 23-8 outburst to pull away from a precarious 67-65 lead and send the Falcons down to their 12th straight loss.

Ateneo also survived a heart-stopper as the Blue Eagles nipped the University of the Philippines Maroons, 70-69, to gain solo second at 9-3 and secure at least a Final Four playoff slot.

Guard Mikee Reyes missed two free throws with  eighth tenths of a second left to doom the 1-11 Maroons.

“I’m not happy with how we won,” said Ateneo coach Bo Perasol. “A lot of us think that we can coast. They (Maroons) defended well. We couldn’t score when it mattered.”

The Eagles wound up scoreless in the last 2:30 minutes and MVP leader Kiefer Ravena also missed two crucial free throws with 10.1 seconds left that gave the Maroons a chance to steal the game.

Ravena finished with 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists, the last allowing Clint Doliguez to score what turned out to be the marginal basket, 70-64.

Before missing the pressure-packed free throws, Reyes had knocked in 15 of the Maroons’ 21 points in the fourth quarter to tow them within a point, 69-70,

But his late-game heroics fell to naught. A 70 percent shooter from the foul line, Reyes  hurried his first free throw attempt after picking up a foul from Ateneo’s Chris Newsome.

Reyes could have still forged overtime with his second free throw, but he succumbed to pressure  after waiting  several minutes to make his next attempt as Ateneo asked for a review of the game clock, which was reset to eighth tenths of a second.

The out-of-it Maroons also pushed the Tamaraws to the limit, 75-69, last Saturday.

Nico Elorde added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles, who led by as many as 13 points, 44-31, in the second half.

Roger Pogoy, whose triple after Tolomia’s own trey gave the Tamaraws an 84-73 lead, added 12 points, while Carl Cruz also stepped up in the key run to finish with nine.

The Tamaraws trailed in double figures early, 3-15, as Don Trollano and Jansen Rios powered the winless Falcons’ strong start.

Deputy Eric Gonzalez again took over for FEU coach Nash Racela, who will return from the Fiba World Cup in Spain this weekend.

The scores:

First Game

ATENEO 70—K. Ravena 18, Elorde 12, A. Tolentino 8, Babilonia 8, T. Ravena 8, Newsome 4, Pessumal 4, Doliguez 4, Javellosa 2, Porter 2, Capacio 0, V. Tolentino 0, Asistio 0, Apacible 0, Gotladera 0, Lim 0.

UP 69—Reyes 19, Gallarza 18, Dario 13, Moralde 11, Vito 2, Lao 2, Asilum 2, Juruena 2, Gingerich 0, Harris 0, Bederi 0.

Quarters: 16-15, 29-24, 56-48, 70-69

Second Game

FEU 90—Iñigo 18, Tolomia 17, Belo 17, Pogoy 12, Cruz 9, Hargrove 7, Jose 7, Ri. Escoto 2, Lee Yu 1, Tamsi 0, Denila 0, Delfinado 0, Ugsang 0.

ADAMSON 73—Trollano 20, Rios 16, Monteclaro 12, Garcia 10, Barrera 6, Polican 5, Aquino 2, Pedrosa 2, Iñigo 0, Villanueva 0, Ochea 0, Baytan 0, Nalos 0.

Quarters: 18-19, 40-44, 62-60, 90-73