UAAP: FEU repeats over streaking UP to claim solo third

Far Eastern University reasserted mastery over University of the Philippines, grinding out a 71-68 win to claim solo third place in the UAAP Season 89 on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws, who were the last team to defeat the Fighting Maroons before the latter went on a seven-game winning streak, snapped a two-way tie with defending champion La Salle in the team standings as they improved to a 7-5 record.

Veejay Pre buried a huge jumper to end UP’s more than five-minute field goal drought, cutting the deficit to just one, 67-66, with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter.

But Pre’s former teammate Jorick Bautista had the answer, drilling a stepback triple over him to restore FEU’s four-point cushion, 70-66, with 40.6 ticks left.

UP committed a crucial turnover in the following sequence, but FEU failed to capitalize on it as Mo Konateh fouled Pre, who sank a pair of free throws to trim the gap to two, 70-68.

A crucial foul by Marc Burgos sent Chicco Briones to the line, where he missed both attempts. Burgos then made up for his earlier mistake by securing the defensive rebound before splitting his own charities to seal FEU’s win.

"We're thankful to be here, but when I was coming to the game today, I felt like we needed some (Michael) Jordan moments to win this game," FEU head coach Sean Chamber said.

"Yeah, what a great shot by Jorick. But I wanted to touch on our defense in the second half, it was truly phenomenal."

Janrey Pasaol top-scored FEU with 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists while Bautista and Mongcopa chipped in 14 and 13 markers each to help FEU bolster its Final Four chances.

Burgos was also a spark off the bench, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds as they repeated their 90-79 win over UP in the first round.

Scores:

FEU 71 – Pasaol 16, Bautista 14, Mongcopa 13, Burgos 11, Konateh 9, Cabonilas 6, Gish 2, Daa 0, Nakai 0, Felipe 0, Montemayor 0.

UP 68 – Remogat 20, Ududo 19, Pre 9, Stevens 8, Payosing 5, Briones 2, Yñiguez 2, Dimaculangan 2, Bayla 1, Palanca 0, Maga 0.

Quarterscores: 23-15, 38-41, 55-56, 71-68.

—JKC, GMA News