FAR Eastern University (FEU) pounced on an undermanned Adamson University, 82-56, a huge victory that kept the Tamaraws in the hunt for the last Final Four berth in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball action on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws gored their way past a Soaring Falcons side that missed scoring machines Jerrick Ahanmisi (fever and sore throat) and Sean Manganti (sprained ankle) to forge a triple tie for third to fifth place in race for semifinals berth.
FEU, University of the Philippines (UP) and De La Salle finished the regular season with similar 8-6 won-lost cards. The Fighting Maroons, however, finished third by virtue of having the best quotient, forcing FEU and De La Salle to dispute the last Final Four slot in a playoff on Wednesday.
Ateneo (12-2) and Adamson University (10-4) are safely perched in the 1-2 spots with a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals.
“This is a big win for us because they missed Manganti and Ahanmisi,” Tamaraw Head Coach Olsen Racela said. “But we have one more game to play to make it to the semifinals. It’s going to be a tough matchup.”
Wendell Comboy had 11 points and four rebounds for FEU, while Arvin Tolentino and Hubert Cani each added 10 points.
Jerom Lastimosa was the lone double-digit scorer with 11 points for the Soaring Falcons.
Troy Rike booked a double-double and Senegalese center Issa Gaye conducted a clinic in defense as National University (NU) bid goodbye to the tournament with a 79-71 victory over University of the East (UE) also on Sunday.
In his final game as a Bulldog, Rike registered 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Gaye stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, six boards and eight blocks—a gem of a defense that made the Red Warriors look much more hapless than the pathetic performance they showed under a new coach this season.
NU finished the season with four wins and 10 losses. It will be the third straight year that the Sampaloc-based squad will miss the Final Four.
Still undecided if he will use his last year of eligibility with the Red Warriors, scoring machine Alvin Pasaol acknowledged the toughness of the squad even after a poor finish of only one win in 14 games.
“We can’t blame anyone about our performance. We fought well. This was a roller-coaster ride for us,” Pasaol, who topscored with 20 points with 14 rebounds and four blocks, said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes