By Dwyane Harry L. Cabrera
Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws reignited their Final Four hunt with a breakthrough win against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 71-68, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men's basketball tournament earlier today, November 14, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The green-and-gold squad stayed relentless in attacking the paint, capitalizing on unforced turnovers to establish an 11-7 lead early in the opening frame.
Tamaraw rookie Marc Burgos made his presence felt, scoring eight of the team's 12 points in a back-and-forth battle against the Katipunan-based squad, 23-15.
Unfortunately, FEU struggled to keep up with Fighting Maroon Rey Remogat’s offensive onslaught, as the Tamaraws failed to answer to his timely treys and playmaking.
Despite keeping the fight close, the green-and-gold squad entered the halftime break still searching for momentum, trailing by three points, 38-41.
The Tamaraws faced an early nine-point deficit in the third quarter but refused to back down, responding with a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to 45-47.
With FEU still struggling to go back to its rhythm, Kirby Mongcopa stepped up to stop the bleeding, drawing fouls through his aggressive drives to the basket and converting on the freebies to inch closer at 55-56.
The Tamaraws continued their pursuit of the lead in the closing seconds of the quarter, with team captain Jorick Bautista attempting to play hero ball. However, his shot fell short, leaving FEU behind entering the last quarter.
Heading into the final canto, the Tamaraws capitalized on UP’s turnovers, converting defensive stops into easy fastbreak opportunities to reclaim the lead, 59-56.
With FEU still trailing, reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Janrey Pasaol proved his worth by orchestrating a personal 6-0 run to carry the Morayta-based squad through crunch time and give them some room to breathe, 65-61.
The green-and-gold cagers built their cushion to as much as five points before a series of fouls allowed the Fighting Maroons to inch closer. However, Bautista silenced the crowd with a clutch triple to keep FEU ahead, 70-68.
A collision between Veejay Pre and Burgos opened the door for UP to force a tie, but the Fighting Maroons failed to convert their freebies, while Burgos secured the match with a crucial free throw, 71-68.
In a postgame interview, reigning MVP Pasaol credited the team's physical preparation and collective effort for their performance against UP.
“Kasi sa practice pa lang, nung natalo kami sa UST [University of Santo Tomas], parang ‘yung practice namin sobrang physical lagi. So, nakita naman sa laro ngayon kung ano ‘yung na-practice namin. So, thank you din sa mga teammate ko kasi collective effort lahat ng ginawa namin (Ever since our loss to UST, our practices have been very physical. I think we were able to show in this game what we had been working on in practice. I also want to thank my teammates because everything we accomplished was a collective effort),” he said.
Pasaol also admitted to the team’s heightened eagerness to beat the maroon-and-white squad, especially with the addition of former Diliman-Morayta standout Pre.
“Nung nagsimula ako dito, ‘yung UP parang sila talaga ‘yung most dominant team eh. So ngayon, mas lalong ‘yung eagerness namin na manalo every game pagkalaban sila, lalo na nandun na si Veejay. So, parang nadagdagan ‘yung gigil namin na ipakita sa kanila, tsaka kay Veejay, na kaya namin na mag-compete sa inyo (When I first started here, UP was considered the most dominant team. So now, we’re even more eager to win every game against them, especially with Veejay being there. It gives us even more motivation to show them, and Veejay, that we can compete with them),” he shared.
FEU’s frontcourt Pasaol and Bautista lead the charge with 16 and 14 markers respectively, while Mongcopa added 13 points and four boards of his own.
Now sitting at a 7-5 win-loss record, the Morayta-based squad will continue their Final Four hunt against National University next Sunday, November 22, at the same venue.
(Photo by James Neil Tamayo/FEU Advocate)