Tams cage Blue Eagles, take 1-0 lead in PCCL title series

Far Eastern University's RR Garcia is fast emerging as the most likely successor to former star guard Mark Barroca. The 5-foot-11 Garcia once again played the hero’s role in the homestretch as the Tamaraws pulled off another comeback victory, beating UAAP champion Ateneo, 75-70, Wednesday to move within a win of claiming the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) crown at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

A former RP Youth team standout, Garcia pumped in 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field in the payoff period as the Morayta-based cagers overcame a 14-point second quarter deficit and six entering the payoff period. FEU can clinch a record third PCCL title and its first since 2005 with a victory on Thursday’s Game 2 but an Ateneo win will force a rubber match on Sunday. "Sana hindi magbago ang laro ng mga bata kasi kahit down sila nandun pa din ang character at intensity nila," said Tams coach Glenn Capacio. "Pero one game pa lang yan at alam naman natin ang heart of the champion (Ateneo) at babawi sila." All-in-all, Garcia finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes of action while Paul Sanga contributed 15 markers and six boards. Asked for comparison between Garcia and controversial ex-star Barroca, who was removed from the team at the height of the UAAP Final Four last September, Capacio simply put rave reviews on his current ace point guard. "Magaling sila pero magkaiba ng style. Si Mark kasi more of a two guard pero dito ako kay RR kasi matalinong bata, ini-involve (ang) mga teammates niya at maganda ang attitude kaya wala akong masabi; wala siyang patutungunahan kundi sa itaas," said Capacio. Big man Reil Cervantes added 14 points and four boards but left the game with an ankle injury but Cameroonian Pipo Noundou made a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards. Smart Gilas mainstay JR Cawaling had 10 points but shot 4-of-11 from the field while adding five rebounds and four assists. The Tams were facing a massive nine-point spread at the end of the third period but Sanga completed a buzzer-beating trey to cut the deficit to six points, 60-54. Sanga eventually tied the count at 64-all on a jumper with 4:30 to go. A minute later, Garcia put his team in the lead for the first time at 67-64. However, Ateneo's Jai Reyes fired a game-tying trey before Noundou sank two charities to regain the lead. From there, Garcia took command once more by draining his third triple of the contest for a 72-67 edge with 2:03 remaining, enough to seal FEU's victory. Reyes finished with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting for Ateneo but bungled three straight attempts from beyond the arc in the last two minutes while Nico Salva and Oping Sumalinog added 14 and 11 points, respectively. The Loyola-based squad, playing in its third straight PCCL finals, once again played minus Rabeh Al-Hussaini due to his commitment with the Smart Gilas RP team. "Nakatulong din sa amin na wala siya (Al-Hussaini). Kasi Rabeh is Rabeh pero nagstep-up din ang big man nila kasi nandun ang sistema nila," said Capacio. "Kaya kung gusto namin manalo talaga kailangan naming doblehin ang effort namin." Ateneo used a closing 13-2 run in the opening quarter to take a 12-point edge before a Ryan Buenafe jumper pushed the team's lead to 26-12 with a minute gone by in the second canto. But FEU eventually chopped down the margin to just two points, 39-37, at the half. Revenge for Lions In the first game, San Beda avenged its NCAA finals loss to San Sebastian with a 91-85 victory to secure third spot and P100,000 worth of scholarship and athletic equipment. JR Tecson shot 6-of-9 from the field to finish with 19 points, Jake Pascual had a double-double after scoring the same amount of points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 29 minutes while Bam Gamalinda added 18 markers, six rebounds and three assists. Jimbo Aquino paced the Stags, who absorbed a devastating 86-83 overtime loss to FEU in the semis, with 20 points in a losing cause. - GMANews.TV