FilOil: Garcia and Romeo-less FEU Tams squeak by JRU to end preseason with a win

(Updated 8:29pm) With their quarterfinals hopes dashed by San Beda College’s victory over the College of Saint Benilde, there was nothing left for new Far Eastern University Tamaraws head coach Nash Racela and his charges to do but end the preseason tourney on a high, slamming the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers on Friday 73-70, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Tams exit the preseason with an even 4-4 card heading to the 76th UAAP Season, while the Heavy Bombers leave with a 1-7 record.

"Going into this game, we really wanted to end the tournament with a win," Coach Racela said in the aftermath. Describing their preseason as "rough," the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters assistant in the PBA added, "That's exactly the reason why we joined this league, for us to learn about ourselves and for us to improve.

"That's a long process but I always tell the players, be willing to take the first step."

Still sitting out for the Tams is firebrand Terrence Romeo, who earned himself a stint in coach Racela’s doghouse for conduct detrimental to the team. The team missed his 16.6 points per game, good for seventh-best in the tourney. Super-senior RR Garcia was present, but did not suit up as Racela opted to rest him.

The Tams shot 27-of-63 from the field (43 percent), including just 3-of-18 (17 percent) from distance. They were also just 52 percent from the free throw line (16-of-31), but crashed the glass for a 51-32 rebounding edge, with Carl Bryan Cruz grabbing 16 boards, seven offensive.

FEU's hustle led to 15 points off second chances and 15 points via 17 JRU miscues.

Both teams had a bad case of butterfingers early, committing seven turnovers between them in the first four minutes of action. Anthony Hargrove gave his side an early 4-0 lead, but Philip Paniamogan scattered five for the Bombers early, 5-4.

The Tams put up enough resistance up front, but forgot that the Bombers were a rangy team. JRU tortured FEU’s zone with triples from Paniamogan and Paolo Pontejos, the former making two triples while the latter added one. Paniamogan’s second trey gave them a five-point lead, 15-10, prompting Coach Racela to sue for time.

Mike Tolomia answered back with a lay-up, but the Bombers went on a 7-0 run, started by Paniamogan’s third triple and ended by Pontejos’ lay-in to make it a 22-14 ballgame. Free throws by Roger Pogoy added two points for FEU, 22-16, and a halfcourt heave by Pontejos was way off, forcing JRU to settle for a six-point lead after one.

JRU lost Paniamogan later in the second, after the referees slapped him with an unsportsmanlike foul after he allegedly kicked Hargrove, who was grasping his knee in pain. Prior to that, JRU went up by as much as seven points after Marco Balagtas hit a triple from the left wing, 27-20. FEU erased the deficit by scoring nine unanswered points, courtesy of Christian Sentcheu, Archie Inigo, and Pogoy, who hit a three-pointer to cap off the run and steal the lead at 29-27.

Cris Dela Paz scored four points while Nonoy Benavides banked in a fast break basket to lead a 6-0 rush for his team, putting JRU up, 33-29. After Hargrove drew a technical foul, he split his charities and Cruz made a short stab to trim the deficit to one, 33-32. Hargrove then goaltended Ervin Grospe’s basket to give JRU a slim lead heading to halftime, 35-32.

The Bombers netted 14 of their 33 attempts (42 percent) at the break, making five out of their 11 long balls (45 percent). They committed 11 turnovers but scored 11 points off 13 FEU miscues. Paniamogan led the team in scoring, tallying 13 points in nine minutes, followed by Dela Paz with six.

The Tamaraws made only 10 of 32 field goal attempts, making only one of their 12 three-pointers (eight percent). FEU made a living out of the free throw line, adding 11 points from 14 attempts from the line. They out-rebounded their counterparts, 25-16.

Hargorve and Pogoy led their team with seven points apiece.


FEU regrouped on offense after the break, going hard to the basket instead of letting their guards shoot contested jumpers. A lay-in by Benavides and a triple by Balagtas neutralized a jumper by Tolomia, 40-34, but the Tams scored three straight points off Cruz’s free throw and Hargrove’s stab to keep the lead at three points, 40-37. Mabulac and Martin Gozum fought back with four straight for JRU off jumpers, 44-39.

The green and gold stole the lead by going on a 9-3 run, but a split by Gozum tied the ballgame at 46-46. A high-arcing floater by Inigo then put the Tams on top anew, and forced JRU to call timeout, 48-46.

Mabulac forged another deadlock at 48-all, but the Heavy Bombers outscored the Tams 6-3 in the dying minutes of the third canto. Two Gryann Mendoza makes sandwiched a Pontejos connection, but a Dela Paz charity ended the third quarter at 54-51, with FEU now on the driver’s seat.

Four straight by Benavides cut the FEU lead to a single point, 59-58, early in the fourth. A tip-in by Hargrove momentarily upped the Tams' lead to three points, 61-58, but Michael Mabulac nailed consecutive jumpers for a 62-61 mark.

The Tams then went on a decisive charge, getting eight straight from Hargrove, Tolomia, and Carl Bryan Cruz. The referees gave another unsportsmanlike foul to another JRU guard, this time sending Dave Sanchez out of the game for grappling Tolomia, who was on his way to the basket. Tolomia split his free throws, while Cruz tipped in his own miss to give the Tams a 69-62 lead.

Jose Rizal U went on to make one final run, scoring six straight points, as Benavides banked another lay-in while Balagtas completed a three-point play. A split by Dela Paz closed out the short rally, which the Tams quelled by making a short basket from Cruz, 71-68. On the subsequent FEU possession, Hargrove made a lay-up to give them a two-possession lead at 73-68.

Pontejos banked in a contested jumper to cut the deficit to three, 73-70, but the Bombers failed to foul in the last ten seconds, as FEU’s ballhandlers rotated efficiently to run out the clock, taking home the W, 73-70.

The Bombers finished with a 41 percent clip (27-of-66), with a 7-of-18 mark from beyond the arc. They managed 21 points off 25 FEU miscues, but had just three second-chance points despite 11 offensive rebounds.

Paniamogan topped the scoring department for his team with 13 points, despite an early exit from the game. He made all five of his shots, with an exceptional 3-3 clip from long-range. Balagtas followed suit with 12 points and six rebounds, while Benavides chimed in with 11 markers.- AMD, GMA News


The scores:

FEU 73 - Hargrove 16, Tolomia 13, Cruz 11, Pogoy 10, Belo 9, Inigo 4, Mendoza 4, Sentcheu 4, Raymar 2, Dennison 0, Denila 0, Luz 0

JRU 70 - Paniamogan 13, Balagtas 12, Benavides 11, Pontejos 9, Mabulac 8, Dela Paz 8, Gozum 3, Sanchez 2, Grospe 2, Salaveria 2, Abanto 0, Medrano 0, Diego 0

Quarter scoring: 16-22, 32-35, 54-51, 73-70