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Tams get back at old foe Warriors, nail Final Four spot in PCCL
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Far Eastern University coach Glenn Capacio had already given up when his team was down by six points with 1:45 remaining in the game. But in a strange twist, the Tamaraws came charging back, thanks to key baskets, several defensive stops and sheer luck to eke out a stunning 86-85 win over UAAP tormentor University of the East in the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. With the "unlikely" win, the Morayta-based squad not only avenged its semis loss to the Warriors in the last UAAP season but also netted a Final Four spot in the PCCL, an annual tournament that decides the national collegiate champion.
Scores: First Game SAN BEDA 77 - Pascual 19, Gamalinda 17, Lanete 15, dela Rosa 9, Lim 7, Villanueva 6, Solera 2, Caram 2, Soliman 0, Tecson 0. MAPUA 75 - Mangahas 17, Guillermo 14, Ranises 9, Sarangay 7, Cornejo 7, Acosta 7, Parala 6, Stevens 5, Pascual 3, Cinco 0. Quarter scores: 14-16; 31-33; 51-50; 77-75. Second Game FEU 86 - Cawaling 25, Sanga 20, Cervantes 12, Garcia 12, Ramos 9, Vinluan 4, Exciminiano 2, Knuttel 2, Noundou 2, Manalo 0. UE 85 - Acuña 19, Lee 18, Llagas 15, Espiritu 14, Zamar 8, Flores 7, Sumido 4, Noble 0, Ayala 0, Duran 0, Reyes 0. Quarter scores: 17-23; 49-40; 64-61; 86-85.
FEU forced its neighbors from UE to commit two straight turnovers, highlighted by an Aldrech Ramos steal off UE’s Raffy Reyes that led to an RR Garcia basket with 17.5 seconds left to grab the lead. On the next play, Ramos made perhaps the biggest defensive play of the game by blocking Paul Lee's potential go-ahead layup before Jens Knuttel was fouled with 5.0 seconds left in the contest. But Knuttel muffed both foul shots and UE quickly raced down their court with Lee finding an open Val Acuña near the basket. However, Acuña missed his layup try shortly before the buzzer as the Tams whooped it up at midcourt to celebrate the improbable win. FEU will next meet either NCAA champion San Sebastian or Letran, which are set to dispute a Final Four berth on Friday. JR Cawaling erupted for 25 points on 14-of-19 shooting to lead the Tams while Paul Sanga added 18 markers. Ramos chipped in nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Cawaling, a member of the Smart Gilas RP team, fired 20 points in the first half as FEU erased a 10-point second quarter deficit to grab a 49-40 lead at the turn. But his guns went silent in the final 20 minutes of the game as the Warriors slowly erased a 46-58 deficit halfway through the third period, scoring 11 straight points for a 74-66 advantage. UE led by eight points on two more occasions and held an 83-77 edge with under two minutes to play that almost forced Capacio to raise the white flag. "Medyo may doubts na ako kung mananalo kami. Buti na lang hindi nag-quit yung mga bata at nag-step up sila sa endgame," said Capacio, whose squad got back at UE after having wasted a twice-to-beat advantage against their old foes in the UAAP Final Four. 
