By Andrei M. Barrantes

Far Eastern University (FEU) gunner Jorick Bautista elevated in crunch time to escape the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles, 66-65, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament today, September 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Bautista only had four points for the first three quarters and struggled to create for most of regulation.

The Sean Chambers-led squad showcased strong energy on both ends of the floor, emulating the University of the Philippines’ defense on the Blue Eagles during their season opener match.

Despite the commanding 19-14 start, the Morayta-based cagers trailed by five heading into halftime thanks to timely baskets by Ateneo’s Jared Bahay, 27-32.

The backcourt trio of Bautista, Rojan Montemayor, and Royce Alforque led the Tams to a 7-0 run late in the third quarter, 40-41, aided by big man Mo Konateh who wiped the board with 18 rebounds. 

With the low-scoring game nearing the end of regulation, Bautista went on a burner, scoring six straight points to give the Tams the late fourth-quarter lead.

Despite the comfortable 51-46 lead with under two minutes left, FEU’s youth showed once more as a botched defensive switch resulted in a wide-open triple from Ateneo’s Sean Quitevis, who shot a perfect 3/3 in the field today.

With 1:29 left on the clock and the Tams leading at 51-49, a costly shooting foul on Bahay committed by rookie forward Veejay Pre led to two clutch free throws for the Blue Eagles, forcing overtime.

In the deciding quarter, Bautista activated his late-game heroics, swishing one mid-range jumper after another en route to an eight-point eruption to escape the Katipunan-based squad, 66-65.

In the post-game presser, Bautista attributed the timely baskets to their higher-intensity training led by their head tactician Coach Chambers.

“Actually nag-shootaround pa kami kaninang umaga, kasi ayun ‘yung [gusto] ni Coach Sean, eh. Gusto niya sa amin sanayin na namin mag-shootaround bago mag-training kasi sobrang laki ng tulong [nito], which is lumabas ngayong laro (Actually we had a shootaround earlier this morning, because that’s something Coach Sean wants us to get used to. He believes that this will be of great benefit to us, which reflected in today’s game),” he said. 

Despite dominating the boards and the bench points, FEU committed 18 turnovers to Ateneo’s 8, something Coach Sean attributes to the squad's youth with nine rookies.

“We start five freshmen, so that’s what’s gonna happen. The deal is you can’t beat them up and yell at them [because] they get hesitant. But they’re gonna get better. I’m not worried about the turnovers,” he added.

Bautista led the pack with 18 points while Alforque and rookie Janrey Pasaol added 12 and 10, respectively. 

The frontcourt duo of Pre and Konateh both posted double-doubles of a combined 28 rebounds and 20 points, rounding off the five Tamaraws in double-digit scoring.

FEU finally added a tick to their win column, rising to a 1-5 win-loss record ahead of their first-round closer against the University of Santo Tomas on October 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)