By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws conceded in the second half against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 77-89, ultimately giving up a finals spot in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup earlier today, June 9, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

With a 38-43 first half, the Morayta-based squad failed to take momentum in the 39-46 second half, going down by as much as 16 in both the third and fourth frames.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Coach Sean Chambers mentioned the mishaps that the team had in shooting and ball security. 

"We're gonna work [more on possessions] and how we take care of the ball. But again, sometimes, being the young team that we are, we kind of get our wheels spinning, and we need to slow down and take quality shots," he said.

The first canto saw a back-and-forth match as both sides failed to establish dominance, 26-27.

The duel between FEU's Veejay Pre and UP's Francis Lopez did not disappoint, with the two scoring 16 and 9 first quarter points, respectively.

In most of the second frame, the teams continued trading baskets, keeping a one-possession game.

However, the Morayta squad’s depth issues were evident in 4-19 bench point disparity which resulted in a bigger deficit by the end of the first half, 38-43.

The Tamaraws' slump worsened in the third canto due to poor shot selection and foul trouble which ballooned the Maroons' lead.

Pre also took a backseat on offense while Lopez stayed uncontainable for the Chambers-led team.

Fortunately, guard Jon Godinez delivered a spark off the bench to lead the green-and-gold cagers in cutting the deficit, 60-70.

A 9-2 run came out from FEU to start the fourth quarter to get back to a one-possession game, 69-72.

The Diliman cagers then responded with a run of their own, establishing another double-digit lead at 72-83 which forced the Morayta squad to call a timeout with 4:53 remaining on the clock.

Despite said timeout, the Chambers-led team were unable to muster up another run for a comeback until the final buzzer, 77-89.

As they ended up in the bronze medal match, FEU's leading scorer Pre expressed their mindset to treat the game like a UAAP match.

"[Ang] mindset pa rin namin is ma-apply lahat ng tinuturo ng coaches namin. Ituturing namin ‘yung [battle-for-third] na UAAP game din para maging preparation na rin sa paparating na UAAP [season] (Our mindset is to apply every lesson from our coaches. We will treat the battle-for-third like it’s a UAAP game so that we will also be prepared for the UAAP season),” he shared

Pre tallied 20 points, followed by Jorick Bautista and Janrey Pasaol with 16 and 11 markers, respectively.

Foreign student-athlete Mo Konateh also showcased a stable performance with nine points and 16 boards.

The Tamaraws will face the loser of the match between De La Salle University and Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the battle-for-third on Wednesday, June 12, at the same venue.

(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)