UAAP: FEU averts end-game collapse against NU

The Far Eastern University Tamaraws continue to dominate in UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament, crushing the National University Bulldogs, 87-83, on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

[Review the play-by-play of this game here]

The Tamaraws played impressive team basketball for 35 minutes, raining three-pointers on the Bulldogs as the latter were still plagued by poor field goal shooting in the tournament's first elimination round.

But the Bulldogs stormed back, rallying around an unsportsmanlike foul called on Anthony Hargrove for contact with Emmanuel Mbe on a fastbreak halfway through the fourth period. The Cameroonian made both charities and the follow-up basket, complementing Ray Ray Parks' penetration play for a 14-1 run, 82-76, with two and a half minutes to play.

The Tamaraws, who succumbed to rushed shots and turnovers, held off National U with several offensive boards, until Parks was fouled after rebounding the ball with 46 seconds left. The defending two-time MVP then canned both charities, but Terrence Romeo replied with a driving left-hander to keep it a wide two-possession game with 26 ticks remaining.

The Bulldogs called a timeout and set up Jeoffrey Javillonar for a quick two, but they were forced to foul RR Garcia, who split, and National U raced upcourt for a Robin Rono triple, 85-83, with 8.8 ticks left.

National U fouled anew, this time sending Romeo was sent to the line, and he converted both charities. Without any timeouts left the Bulldogs triggered the ball to Parks, whose last-second three-pointer rimmed out as time expired.

Romeo notched a team-high 24 points and five assists, including a 6-of-10 clip from three-point territory. Carl Bryan Cruz added 13 points, while Gryann Mendoza scattered 10 markers.

"We started really really nice but we didn't finish very well," stated FEU head coach Nash Racela very plainly after the game. The 5-0 start is the team's best since beginning 7-0 in 2010.

Racela also commended the play of his role players who contributed offensively, saying it was a natural step in his team's development as they get scouted by their opponents. "That's expected. The defense will really focus on Mike Tolomia, Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia, so that'll open opportunities for the other guys. It's good they were able to step forward," he said.

The Tams currently lord over the rankings with a perfect 5-0 record, while the Bulldogs, 3-2, dipped to third place.

The Tamaraws started strong behind Terrence Romeo and Gryann Mendoza, who combined for nine points, including three triples, in an opening 20-9 blast. The Bulldogs tallied just one field goal, an and-one drive by Ray Ray Parks, until an Emmanuel Mbe lay-in with two minutes to play. But a couple more FEU treys, their fifth and sixth of the quarter, from Achie Inigo and Roger Pogoy, steered them to a 28-16 lead after the first period.

National U began to press and zone early in the second quarter, earning breathing room for Glenn Khobuntin and Robin Rono to lay an 8-2 run, 30-24. Little was going for FEU offensively, but Terrence Romeo kept them in front by knocking down tightly contested jumpers, scoring eight of their next 10 points, 40-29.

Yet FEU couldn't pull away as Parks and Mbe took advantage of the foul situation in the last two and a half minutes, offsetting jumpers by Bryan Cruz and Ron Dennison to trail 45-36 at halftime.

The Tams made 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) three-pointers to augment a 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) shooting clip after two quarters. In contrast, the Bulldogs were 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from downtown and just 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) at halftime.

National U compensated at the line, going 18-of-20 (90 percent) while FEU made all of their four charities. The Tamaraws were also 13-5 in second-chance points despite trailing in offensive rebounding, 7-9.


FEU slowly increased the margin in the third quarter, playing solid interior defense while showing good floor spacing on the other end, resulting in more three-pointers and room to score inside. The Tamaraws' lead swelled to 20 points following a 13-4 run, 66-46, on Garcia charities with under two minutes to play before settling for a 68-48 margin heading into the fourth.

Mbe tried to rejuvenate the flagging Bulldogs in the final frame, bannering an early 7-2 start. But National U couldn't cool off the Tams' sizzling outside shooting as they scored nine of their next 11 points from long range, 81-62, halfway through the quarter, before National U mounted their comeback.

The Tamaraws ended the game with an impressive 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) mark from downtown while finishing 30-of-71 (42.3 percent) overall. On the other hand, National U went 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from beyond the arc for a 25-of-75 (33.3 percent) throughout the game.

The Bulldogs led in second-chance points, 26-19, off a 24-16 advantage in offensive rebounding. They also made 28-of-32 (87.5 percent) of their charities, while the Tams went 12-of-16 (75 percent) from the stripe.

Emmanuel Mbe finished the game with 27 points and 17 rebounds, while Ray Ray Parks registered 26 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.  - CLP, GMA News


The scores:

FEU 87: Romeo 24, Cruz 13, Mendoza 10, Garcia 9, Tolomia 7, Belo 6, Pogoy 5, Sentcheu 4, Inigo 3, Jose 2, Hargrove 2, Dennison 2

NU 83: Mbe 27, Parks 26, Rono 9, Khobuntin 8, Javillonar 7, Villamor 2, Rosario 2, Alolino 2, Porter 0, De Guzman 0, Alejandro 0

Quarter scores: 28-16, 45-36, 68-48, 87-83