By Krizza Gabrielle Tabora
Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws delivered a comeback victory to avenge their round one loss against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 73-66, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament earlier today, October 28, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The opening frame unfolded in a tight gridlock until Adam Nakai delivered a triple, followed by a Kirby Mongcopa jumper to lead FEU, 11-9.
Looking to extend their advantage, Tamaraw cager Luke Felipe quickly drilled a three-pointer off an assist from Jorick Bautista to push the score, 14-11.
Heading into halftime, Cabs Cabonilas and Mo Konateh combined for crucial layup conversions to close out the first half with FEU ahead at 33-22.
Eager to extend their momentum, Bautista shot from beyond the arc courtesy of a Mongcopa assist to stretch the lead to 13, 39-26.
FEU eventually mounted their largest advantage of 19 points following layups from Mongcopa and Jedric Daa, 55-36.
Refusing to let up in the final stretch, Cabonilas sparked the offense with back-to-back buckets built from a three-pointer and a layup to secure a 63-49 cushion.
Despite AdU attempting a late surge, FEU tightened their defense with Janrey Pasaol’s clutch triple and free throws from Daa to seal the win, 73-66.
During the post-game conference, Mongcopa described their game plan to secure their comeback.
“Stay aggressive kami. Bigay namin lahat ‘yun, 100 percent ‘yung laro namin ngayon. So ‘yun, ‘yung result, manalo. Pero hindi sana ganun ‘yung finish na game e. Dapat na-sustain namin ‘yung bola. No pressure lang (We stayed aggressive. We gave it our all, 100 percent, in this game, so the result is a win. But we should not have ended the game like that. We should have sustained the ball, no pressure),” he shared.
Mongcopa paced the Tamaraws with 13 points, followed by Cabonilas with 11, alongside Pasaol and Marc Burgos who chipped in 10 markers apiece.
Marking their first win in the second round, the green-and-gold team will look to improve their 5-4 win-loss card as they face University of the East next Wednesday, November 4, at the same venue.
(Photo by Louela Luna/FEU Advocate)