Tams edge Maroons; Bulldogs prevail

FAR Eastern University rebounded from its first loss with another lucky win yesterday.

Terrence Romeo flirted with a triple-double as the Tamaraws completed another escape act with a 73-70 decision of University of the Philippines to grab a share of the lead in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.

Romeo capped a career-high 24 points with the marginal free throws with just 2.1 seconds left after hitting 5-of-7 from three-point range. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out eight assists.

“Good thing we had Terrence as our savior,” said FEU coach Bert Flores, adding that his other star guard RR Gacia had been struggling due to an ankle injury.

The Tamaraws, who joined Ateneo on top at 5-1, opened their season with three close shaves before dropping their first game against National U, 67-71, last Thursday.

NU sustained its own run as Emmanuel Mbe and Bobby Ray Parks posted double-double numbers to power the Bulldogs to a 77-62 rout of Adamson in the second game.

“We talked about follow through, that’s our word for this game,” said coach Eric Altamirano after his Bulldogs picked up their first back-to-back wins for a 4-2 record.

Mbe scattered 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Parks had 12 markers and 11 boards against the Falcons.

The Tamaraws nearly blew a 15-point advantage, 68-53, in the last seven minutes after the Maroons responded with a 13-2 run to move within just four, 70-66.

Although a non-call on a goaltending violation of FEU’s Anthony Hargrove on UP’s Diony Hipolito could have trimmed the deficit further, the Maroons also missed several chances to tie the game in the final three minutes.

UP forward Mark Lopez could have forged a deadlock with just five seconds left, but only nailed one of two free throws from a foul by Rey Mark Belo.