Filoil: NU stays undefeated as FEU's Romeo misses overtime-forcing triple

The National University Bulldogs emerged triumphant against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 67-64, in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Cup elimination round, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena. FEU chipped away at a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. While the Bulldogs went often to foreign center Alfred Aroga, the Tamaraws used triples by Terrence Romeo and Mac Belo to keep up and took advantage of offensive rebounds and the Bulldogs' late rotations. Charities by Carl Bryan Cruz made it a 57-52 game with three minutes to play. The Tamaraws however did themselves no favors after giving up fouls on the other end, as six straight Bulldogs charities offset the gains from consecutive triples by veteran RR Garcia, 65-60, with under a minute to play. Romeo made it a one-possession game though, by racing to the other end and converting on a floater, 65-62, with 31.6 seconds remaining. National U called a timeout but coughed up the ball, leading to an Emmanuel Mbe goaltend and foul on a Romeo lay-up. The combo guard missed the bonus but got his own miss, only the Tamaraws couldn't get a clean look, as Gryann Mendoza missed a corner attempt. Ray Ray Parks cleaned the glass with 6.5 ticks remaining and was fouled, making two from the stripe. FEU called timeout but couldn't close the game, as Romeo missed a potential-game tying three from the top of the circle. Aroga top-scored for NU with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Parks tallied 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while JJ Alejandro added 10 points. "I'm just trying to do my job and be aggressive, and I think I did what coach was expecting me to do," said Aroga of his performance. "It was really a tough game for us," said Bulldogs coach Eric Altamirano. He said that while the Tamaraws were still adjusting to new head coach Nash Racela and his system, games against Garcia and Romeo would be tough come the UAAP. "We knew coming into the second half that FEU's guards would assert themselves in the game. All we can do is limit them, contain them, but we can't stop them. "We're still a work in progress," Altamirano added, noting that his team needs to improve reacting to ball screens and their transition defense. "Coach E" noted that Mbe had only practiced twice with his team since rejoining them from injury. The Bulldogs will also be flying to Perth, Australia to play semi-professional and developmental teams for eight days before returning on June 1. Last UAAP season's host team have yet to lose in the tournament, posting four straight wins. Meanwhile the Tamaraws sank to 1-2 in Group A play. Ray Ray Parks scored on the block to start the game, but NU's offense wilted against the Tamaraws' pressure. Meanwhile Mike Tolomia found breakaway baskets, and Anthony Hargrove scored in the paint to give FEU a 7-2 lead. JJ Alejandro came off the bench and nailed a trey with under five minutes to play, but Terrence Romeo and the Tams' backcourt drew fouls to stay ahead, and a floater by RR Garcia with 47 seconds remaining gave FEU a 15-12 lead. Fortunately for National U, Parks was fouled with 0.4 seconds left while angling for a rebound and made two from the line, as his team trailed 15-14. The Bulldogs caught up in the second quarter, thanks to back-to-back baskets by Alfred Aroga down low. FEU tightened up their interior defense but the Tams were unable to score in the halfcourt, and faced a 21-21 tie, three minutes into the period. National U took advantage of FEU's early penalty situation as Parks and Aroga combined for seven points in a 12-7 run to end the quarter. Romeo continued to bail out a struggling Tamaraws offense, scoring their last seven points as they trailed at halftime, 33-28. The Tamaraws slowly reestablished themselves after the intermission. After conceding a trey to Jeoff Javillonar, Romeo and RR Garcia found their way to the rim to combine for eight points in a 10-3 run, 39-38. Although they survived on broken plays thus far, the Bulldogs organized an 11-3 response, capped by consecutive makes by Rosario, to close the quarter ahead by double digits, 50-40. It was a poor shooting game as National U made just 19-of-65 field goals (29 percent), while the Tams converted 21-of-69 (30 percent). However, the Bulldogs had a 26-to-33 free throw advantage (79 percent), including 12-of-14 by Parks, against FEU's 17-of-23 (74 percent). Terrence Romeo led all scorers with 23 points and seven rebounds. RR Garcia registered 14 points and seven rebounds as well. - AMD, GMA News The scores: NU 67: Aroga 20, Parks 18, Alejandro 10, Rosario 7, Rono 4, Mbe 3, Javillonar 3, De Guzman 2, Villamor 2, Neypes 0, Javelona 0, Porter 0 FEU 64: Romeo 25, Garcia 14, Tolomia 6, Hargrove 5, Mendoza 4, Belo 4, Cruz 2, Escoto 2, Jose 2, Pogoy 0, Inigo 0, Dennison 0 Quarter scoring: 21-21, 33-28, 50-40, 67-64