By Joshua Kyle Beltran
Suffering a second-half collapse, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws could not keep the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons at bay, 53-56, in the opening game of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament earlier today, September 13, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
For the first five minutes of the opening canto, the paint stayed cold as Tamaraw foreign student-athlete Mo Konateh failed to defend the board and convert second-chance baskets, 2-6.
It was not long, however, until FEU team captain Jorick Bautista sank three consecutive treys in the latter part of the quarter to boost their scoring, 11-6.
Despite allowing a triple from Falcon Mathew Montebon, the Tamaraws maintained their lead, 16-11.
After a series of missed shots from outside the arc, Season 88 boys’ basketball Most Valuable Player Cabs Cabonilas, Konateh, and Fil-Am rookie Elias Gish converted inside the paint with two markers apiece, 24-16.
As careless turnovers from the Morayta-based squad resulted in a 0-6 Adamson scoring burst, 27-22, the green-and-gold cagers still closed the first half with an eight-point lead, 36-28.
Scoring remained stagnant into the third quarter until FEU added three points to the board in the final three minutes, built on a Konateh free throw and Cabonilas layup, 39-33.
In their best efforts to clinch a double-digit gap, Luke Felipe and Janrey Pasaol combined for seven markers to stretch the lead to nine, 46-37.
Heading into the last frame, the Tamaraws struggled to contain an aggressive 0-11 Falcons run as their margin for error quickly grew slim, 46-48.
Tension rose as both teams saw a seesaw affair, but Cabonilas kept the game afloat through a second-chance layup, 48-48, followed by a triple, 51-50.
Unfortunately, defensive lapses allowed Adamson to build a big enough lead, as the Morayta-based team was unable to pull away following a missed triple from Kirby Mongcopa, 53-56.
In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, green-and-gold head coach Sean Chambers acknowledged their late-game errors that eventually led to the loss.
“Honestly, I thought that we should have been up by more… We missed a couple shots, we had a lot of unforced turnovers… That kind of started to change the energy of the game,” he explained.
However, Chambers also emphasized how the recent game can contribute to the team’s growth.
“I say this, if you play basketball long enough, you coach long enough, you're gonna see these kinds of games, and you gotta grow from it,” the lead tactician said.
Pasaol and Cabonilas added 11 markers apiece, followed by Bautista with nine points. Meanwhile, Konateh had a quiet presence in the paint, posting only three rebounds.
Looking to bounce back early, FEU seeks to claim its first win against the University of the East in two weeks, on September 26, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)