Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws fell short against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, absorbing their first defeat, 75–65, in the Playtime Cares 18th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup earlier today, June 12, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

The green-and-gold squad went toe-to-toe with the Maroons in a tightly contested opening quarter filled with lead changes and momentum swings. Jorick Bautista knocked down a triple to tie the game at 4-4, while Mo Konateh made his presence felt with an early assist.

Konateh later added a putback and an alley-oop to tie things up at 17-17. Bautista then chipped in three free throws, but FEU ended the first frame trailing by three, 22-25.

In the second period, the Tamaraws briefly seized the lead, 31-29, after Konateh muscled a layup inside the paint, prompting a quick timeout from the UP bench.

However, it was swiftly countered with an 8-0 run by Fighting Maroons’ Terrence Fortea and Sean Alter. Despite Konateh’s strong performance on the boards, UP’s depth and fast-paced play produced an eight-point gap by the first half, 38-46.

After the break, FEU struggled to stop the offensive rhythm of the Diliman-based squad. 

Despite forcing late turnovers, the Morayta-based team missed critical shots and free throws, ending the game with a score of 65-75.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, head coach Sean Chambers acknowledged the team’s missed opportunity to close out the game.

“I thought that we played about 80 percent of the game, and we didn’t complete it all the way off. We didn’t finish it off the way I wanted to, but we’re there,” he said.

Chambers also expressed his optimism about the team’s progress, noting that they have made significant advances compared to last year. 

“We're far advanced from where we were last year. But there's lots of areas of improvement, and we're gonna catch you, get in the gym, and work hard to make ourselves better for our fans,” the head tactician stated. 

Konateh anchored the team with a dominant double-double, posting 16 points and 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, Bautista and Pasaol added 16 and 15 markers to the tally, respectively. 

Now at a 2-1 win-loss record, FEU looks to bounce back as they take on Adamson University on June 20 at the same venue.

(Photo courtesy of Hero Dela Peña)