FEU sends UST reeling to fourth straight loss

FEU vs UST. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Far Eastern University frustrated University of Santo Tomas with a 78-65 drubbing in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The Tamaraws flipped the switch in the fourth quarter to turn the game around after trailing the Tigers early in the game.

FEU held a minute 49-48 at the end of the third before staging a crippling 18-3 run to take a 67-51 lead that left UST looking startled.

The Tamaraws improved to a 2-2 record while the Growling Tigers remained at the bottom of the eight-team ladder with a miserable 0-4 card.

FEU head coach Olsen Racela commended his team a better second half performance after allowing UST to go tit-for-tat with the Tamaraws for the first 20 minutes.

“I told the players that we have to grind it out since there’s no sure win in this league,” said Racela in Filipino. “We have to put in the effort, and it showed in the second half that we really have to grind it out.”

The Tamaraws put a clamp on UST’s offense, limiting the Tigers to a 33 percent shooting. Their 29 fourth quarter points also matched the whole second half output of the Tigers.

Ball movement was also crucial for FEU as it registered 20 assists compared to UST eight, and those passes led to seven uncontested field goals.

Arvin Tolentino put up a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead FEU on both ends while Ron Dennison had 15 points of his own.

Jeepy Faundo led UST with 16 points and 11 rebounds.