By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Despite going through their second overtime of the season, Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Jorick Bautista fired up once again to upset the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 76-72, delivering another win in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men's basketball tournament earlier today, October 12, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The green-and-gold gunner had 21 points, with his only trey being the overtime-forcing shot. He also had 14 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, mirroring his production in their first season win against Ateneo de Manila University last September 29.

In the post-game conference, Bautista expressed joy for being able to come out as winners again in a neck-and-neck match.

“Ang sarap sa feeling. Siyempre, dati napagdaanan na namin ‘to [kaya] alam na namin ‘yung gagawin namin. Nag-stick lang talaga kami [at] naglaro para sa isa’t isa (The feeling’s good. Of course, we’ve already been through this so we already know what to do. We just stuck together and played for each other),” he said.

To start the game, the Morayta cagers chose the paint as their primary offense but were suffocated by the Falcons' defense, gradually getting buried in an eight-point hole at the end of the first canto, 6-14. FEU's only field goals came from Mo Konateh's two tip-ins.

In the first five minutes of the second quarter, an accelerated pace helped the green-and-gold squad mount a 15-1 outburst, taking the lead and creating a two-possession game, 21-15.

Adamson then threatened FEU's lead as they knocked down three triples. Fortunately, Bautista's five markers were enough to keep the green-and-gold squad's momentum, 29-25, at halftime.

An exchange of runs took place in the third quarter between the teams with the Tams launching fastbreaks to neutralize the Falcons' jumpers, 35-32.

The Morayta-based squad's sloppy fouls and risky passes threatened their advantage but managed to hold on through Konateh's post drive and Janrey Pasaol's fastbreak lay before the fourth frame, 44-40.

Despite beginning the fourth frame with Rojan Montemayor’s back-to-back treys to put them up at 50-42, FEU found themselves down in the final 28 seconds, 55-58.

Royce Alforque got the opportunity to inch closer with free throws, but missed both. Fortunately, Konateh was able to tap the ball towards an open Bautista at the top of the key, who delivered the game-tying basket with 14.8 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, 58-all.

In the extension, Bautista turned up even more, taking advantage of the Tamaraws’ isolation plays to drain a clutch floater and draw fouls. Konateh, Alforque, and Veejay Pre pitched in with timely baskets as well to separate from the Falcons, 72-66.

Adamson’s Matthew Montebon tried to launch a comeback with two consecutive triples in the last 20 seconds, but they proved too late as Bautista remained composed from the charity stripe, cashing in on his trips to the line all the way towards the 76-72 FEU win.

After delivering in the clutch once again, Bautista attributed his and his coaches' trust in himself for his impressive display.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa coaches kasi grabe ‘yung tiwala ng binigay nila sa’kin ‘tsaka sinasabi ko sa sarili ko na ‘di ko sila ile-let down talaga. [May] tiwala ako sa sarili ko na kaya kong gawin ‘yun (I thank the coaches because they have so much trust in me and I tell myself that I won’t let them down. I believe in myself that I can do that),” he shared.

Head coach Sean Chambers then mentioned their goal to bounce back in the second round.

“You look at all our games, I don’t think we’ve lost a game by more than 11 points so far. We had a chance to win pretty much every single game. Bawi lang. We’re here to get our revenge back on all the teams,” the lead tactician stated.

Konateh’s performance is also noteworthy, producing 13 points, 26 rebounds, and four blocks—one board shot of the league record. Meanwhile, Pre was last Tamaraw in double-digit scoring with 10 markers and seven rebounds.

The Chambers-led squad looks to launch their revenge next against the National University on Wednesday, October 16, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

(Photo by Gwyneth Mendoza/FEU Advocate)