By Vince Matthew Jaramilla
Meeting once again on the same court, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws conquered former teammate Veejay Pre and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 90-79, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tourney earlier today, October 4, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Jedric Daa, Janrey Pasaol, and Kirby Mongcopa’s shooting jumpstarted FEU’s engine early, already knocking down a triple each halfway through the first quarter, 13-9.
After the TV timeout, the Tamaraws’ shots continued to find the bottom of the basket with Jorick Bautista and Luke Felipe joining the scorers from downtown to double the Fighting Maroons’ points by the end of the frame, 26-13.
However, the Morayta squad struggled to contain Katipunan-based guard Rey Remogat, who scored seven straight markers in the first minute of the second canto, forcing head coach Sean Chambers to call a quick timeout.
Both a dry spell and a defensive slump plagued the FEU for most of the frame, eventually standing at a 36-all deadlock with three minutes left.
The green-and-gold cagers prevented UP from getting their first lead of the game, but the Chambers-led squad still found themselves barely ahead going into halftime, 43-41.
At the break, the Mongcopa-Pre matchup did not disappoint, with the FEU Diliman teammates tallying 14 and 11 points, respectively — the only two players in double digits.
To start the third frame, the Tamaraws launched a 14-2 run built on Mo Konateh’s post touches, Mongcopa’s back-to-back triples, and forced turnovers, prompting the Fighting Maroons to sue for time.
FEU dominated throughout the quarter, scoring a whopping 32 points to UP’s 14 with Pasaol’s buzzer-beater lay off a scramble putting the cherry on top for their biggest lead yet, 75-55.
With the substantial advantage, the Morayta-based cagers managed to cruise by the final canto, denying the Maroons’ rally for a comeback to notch their third straight win.
This victory snapped FEU’s 10-game losing streak against UP since 2019. The squad is also enjoying its best start since 2015 — the last time the Tamaraws won the championship.
In the post-game press conference, Pasaol echoed Coach Chambers’ emphasis on maturity in their last game contra De La Salle University last September 30 as the driving force for their current success.
“[Malaking bagay] ‘yung maturity ng game kasi three years na kaming magkakasama ta’s andu’n pa si Coach [Sean] sa’min. Nandiyan lang siya para gabayan kami nung mga early season[s] pa namin so ‘yun lang talaga nag-set sa’min ng tone (Maturity in the game is a big thing because we’ve been together for three years and Coach Sean has also been with us. He’s just there to guide us in the early seasons so that’s what sets our tone),” the reigning Most Valuable Player said.
Player of the Game Mongcopa then mentioned the importance of continuous work to sustain their performance for the long season ahead.
“Malayo pa ‘yung season. Marami pang mangyayari so kailangan naming magtrabaho. Hindi porket nanalo kami ngayon, parang bibitaw na kami. Hindi, trabaho pa rin para sa next game (The season is still long. There’s still more that will happen so we need to work. Us winning now doesn’t mean we let go. No, we still need to work for the next game),” he stated.
Mongcopa led the Tamaraws in the stat sheet once again, recording 24 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. On the other end of the floor, Pre spearheaded his own squad with 16 markers.
Meanwhile, Bautista and Pasaol pitched in 16 and 15 points, respectively, with Konateh following suit 10-11 double-double.
Standing at a 3-1 win-loss record, FEU will strive to snatch the solo one-seed from fellow 3-1 team Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday, October 10, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
(Photo by Gabriel Matencio/FEU Advocate)