Instant Replay: FEU Tamaraws shift into fifth gear

Let’s get this tidbit out of the way: the FEU Tamaraws did not make the cut in my Final Four predictions. I locked in UST, La Salle, National University, and Ateneo as my picks to contend for this year’s title.

I wrote off the Tamaraws for three reasons. First, they lost a key piece in Russel Escoto to a season-ending ACL injury. Second, the strained chemistry between Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia became more and more evident as the power struggle for the title of alpha tamaraw remained unresolved by the end of last season. Third, the influx of foreign talent fielded in other schools supposedly raised the bar of competition.

Amidst the doubts, FEU has silenced its critics with a 6-0 record to jumpstart its UAAP Season 76 campaign. Watching the Tamaraws’ last two victories against the Bulldogs and Growling Tigers (both potential Finals previews), I saw something none of the other seven teams have, or found so far: the extra gear.

Take a closer look at those two wins. FEU’s 87-83 escape against National U was not as tight as the final score suggested. The Tamaraws blew the game wide open, leading by as much as 20 points in the third quarter, 68-48, before the Bulldogs made a furious rally that fell short. If I am Coach Nash Racela, my main takeaway from this game is that Emmanuel Mbe (27 points, 17 rebounds) and Bobby Ray Parks (26 points, eight rebounds) both delivered Mythical Five-caliber performances and still came up short. FEU took National U’s best punch and managed to come out on top.

In FEU’s 77-67 drubbing over UST, the Tamaraws were taken to the post by Karim Abdul (21 points, 11 rebounds) and pushed to the brink by masked man Kevin Ferrer (18 points,  seven rebounds). Again, Racela saw that his team was able to withstand the barrage of points UST dropped on them. The Growling Tigers are known to string 6-0 and 8-0 runs in a hurry. It was crucial for FEU to have a counter to each flurry UST threw at them, and then some, which was what happened.

Granted, the Tamaraws were blistering hot from long-range, but that does not take away any shine from those wins. If anything, it emphasized the deadly shooters that the team has had all along. In those two games, FEU shot a combined 26-of-59 from downtown (44 percent). It was as if Anton Montinola secretly flew in Danny Green to give the Tamaraws valuable shooting tips during scrimmages.

Of course, those open looks from long-range do not happen without Romeo’s aggressive forays to the basket. I will borrow a term coined by ESPN sports analyst Bill Simmons. He refers to it as the “10 Percent Theory,” which is perfectly apt to describe Romeo’s game. The theory suggests that Romeo’s skill set is composed of 90 percent potential and 10 percent holes.

The easy cop-out is to nitpick the 10 percent where Romeo hurts his team, such as his insanely high usage rate (a euphemism for ball hogging) and his propensity to run out the entire shot clock. The criticism is off the charts, even though no other Tamaraw can fully replicate the other 90% that Romeo brings to the table. It is hard to imagine someone like Garcia or Mike Tolomia slash to the hoop or draw double-teams with the same frequency and effectiveness. For all the flak he receives, Romeo has played the way a bonafide MVP candidate should.

A clear definition of roles has allowed FEU to steer clear of stepping on one another’s toes the way it did for most of last season. Anthony Hargrove and Christian Sentcheu are tasked to protect the paint, Gryann Mendoza and Roger Pogoy have stretched their range, while Mac Belo and Carl Cruz consistently provide the intangibles and hustle plays. Most importantly, Racela has convinced Garcia to take a backseat role to Romeo, thereby settling the sensitive issue of leadership once and for all.

And when I say FEU has that extra gear, that term should be taken both figuratively and literally. The Tamaraws rampage from one side of the court to the other with every deflection and loose ball. Their players’ nostrils flare with the sight of a broken play. Combined with the league’s lowest average in turnovers per game, FEU ends up with more productive possessions that result in a shot attempt, a key element that swings the balance towards their favor.

That said, the Tamaraws are by no means a perfect unit. They still need to work on gang rebounding as they have been outworked on the glass when Hargrove is the only man waiting for the loose ball to come down. If this team can corral more caroms while maintaining their breakneck pace, there will be more available transition points waiting to be scored.

In 2010, FEU also came out of the gates strong, finishing at the top of the elimination round before settling for a bridesmaid finish in the Finals. Will the Tamaraws go into cruise control or run out of gas once again? We're eight elimination round games away from finding out. - AMD, GMA News



Favian Pua currently works as a sports analyst for Kambi Philippines. He also maintains a sports blog, All-Time Fave. You can e-mail him at favianpua@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter.