UAAP: FEU completes first round sweep with win over Adamson

(Updated 4:37pm) Terrence Romeo's heroics late in the fourth quarter delivered a 74-71 win over the Adamson Soaring Falcons, keeping the Far Eastern University Tamaraws undefeated after the first elimination round of the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament, Sunday, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

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

Romeo nailed a triple with two and a half minutes remaining to cap an 11-2 run, but ended it himself after a loose ball foul on Raouf Julkipli. The Falcon split, then converted on a coast-to-coast lay-up to threaten their clean sheet. Romeo wasn't finished though as he took advantage of a botched Falcons fast break with a long two, and then matched a Roider Cabrera triple over Don Trollano's outstretched arms, 74-69, with 24 seconds remaining.

Adamson called a timeout and fed Jericho Cruz for a quick two. Afterwards, they pressed the Tams with 18 seconds left on the clock and a handful of team fouls to give. FEU took a timeout but were forced into a five-second violation, returning the ball to the Falcons with 15.9 ticks on the clock. But the Tamaraws made amends, hounding Adamson on the perimeter to force Raouf Julkipli into an awkward one-legged three-pointer which missed the hoop entirely. The Tams called their final timeout with two seconds left, then triggered the ball inside to finalize the first round sweep.

Romeo posted a season-high 26 points and four rebounds on 10-of-23 shooting. Roger Pogoy, RR Garcia and Mac Belo notched nine points each and combined for 11 boards.

Tamaraws head coach Nash Racela downplayed his team's winning streak. "In our minds, you don't accomplish anything if you don't get to your goal," he said.

"We're anticipating every team to be tough in the second round," he said, noting that other teams were playing injured and that FEU was fortunate enough to remain healthy. "All we did was to take advantage while other teams were struggling, taking as many wins as we can. In the second round, most of those teams will be complete, and there will be a target on our backs."

Racela also said that given the way his team has been playing, questions about Romeo's chemistry issues with RR Garcia have to be laid to rest. "At this point we really need to respect them. Sila yun eh, wala akong kinalaman dun. I just coach them, manage them," he said. "As a person if you're not willing to make changes nothing will happen."

FEU last swept the first round in Seasons 73 and 68, joining the UE Red Warriors in Season 70 and the Ateneo Blue Eagles in Season 67, 69 and 74 in the last 10 years. All except the Season 67 Eagles reached the UAAP finals.

The Tam's 7-0 card keeps them atop the league rankings, while the Falcons' loss sends them to 3-4, tying the Ateneo Blue Eagles at fifth place. The loser of this afternoon's DLSU Green Archers-NU Bulldogs match will join Adamson and Ateneo to form a three-way tie.

FEU found a handful of looks in the open court during the first quarter, as Terrence Romeo and Mike Tolomia leaked out for layups, offsetting gains by Ingrid Sewa down low for a 9-3 lead. The Falcons were struggling on put-backs and from the perimeter until Jericho Cruz responded with a three-pointer midway through the frame, teaming up with Rodney Brondial for a 7-2 run, 11-10, with under three minutes to play.

The Tamaraws then shifted gears and chipped away from the outside. RR Garcia knocked down a long two, then nailed a trey at the buzzer to bracket a 9-3 rally for the Tams, giving them a 20-13 lead after the first period.

The Falcons rallied in the second quarter as they got to the rim, with Cruz slashing inside and Ingrid Sewa overpowering the defense on the block. FEU defended their lead though, as Gryann Mendoza and Roger Pogoy connected from beyond the arc, 30-25.

FEU called timeout with five and a half minutes left to regroup. Though they did a better job of containing the Cameroonian center for the rest of the half, they couldn't score until late on twin drives by Romeo and Garcia in the last two minutes, 36-30.

However, Adamson held together on defense and countered with a Cruz jumper and split charities by Sewa after he was fouled on the break. After another stop, Cruz drew contact after finishing a drive with six seconds left. He missed the bonus, but an offensive board led to a Brondial layup as time expired, capping seven unanswered points to lead 37-36 at the half.

Cruz and Sewa scored all but six of Adamson's 14 points in the quarter, and combined for 23 markers at halftime. The pair together went 10-of-17 from the field as their Falcons shot 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) after two quarters, while the Tams were 13-of-37 (35.1 percent). FEU held an 8-2 advantage in fast break points but trailed on the glass as Adamson led, 23-18.


The Tamaraws' supporting cast stepped up after the break. Mac Belo scored six of their first 13 points, as he, Tolomia, and Roger Pogoy as they put pressure on Adamson's interior defense with a 7-0 run, 49-44.

With three minutes to play in the third, the Adamson bench stepped up to the plate as well. After a pair of drives by Cruz, four different Falcons chipped in, capped by a Don Trollano three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining. Romeo though gave FEU the final say of the period with a fadeaway jumper along the left baseline, trailing 56-54.

Adamson extended their lead early in the fourth quarter, 61-58, on a trey by Harry Petilos. But the Tams' offensive rebounding gave them fits, as Anthony Hargrove and Christian Sentcheu bannered inside makes for FEU while Sewa went 2-of-6 from the line, 66-63, with four minutes remaining. After that, Romeo went on a tear to close out the game and clinch the sweep.

FEU shot 27-of-71 (38 percent) for the game, withstanding Adamson's 29-of-60 (48.3 percent) mark. But Tams shot 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the charity stripe. In contrast, the Falcons were a disappointing 8-of-22 (36.4 percent), with Sewa notching 5-of-13.

Jericho Cruz led Adamson with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists. Ingrid Sewa and Rodney Brondial added 13 points while hauling down 10 and 15 rebounds, respectively. - CLP, GMA News

The scores:
 

FEU 74: Romeo 26, Pogoy 9, Garcia 9, Belo 9, Tolomia 8, Hargrove 4, Mendoza 3, Sentcheu 2, Jose 2, Cruz 2, Inigo 0

 

ADU 71: Cruz 21, Sewa 13, Brondial 13, Trollano 5, Julkipli 5, Agustin 4, Abrigo 4, Petilos 3, Cabrera 3, Rios 0, Monteclaro 0, Inigo 0