NASH Racela cited a lot of reasons his Far Eastern University (FEU) failed to finish off University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Game Two of their Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball finals.
Missed free throws, poor shooting, a little bit of bad officiating and, of course, Kevin Ferrer’s explosion.
And yet, they had a chance to sweep the Growling Tigers and bring home their 20th UAAP crown. But UST and Ferrer had other plan on Saturday.
FEU is in a familiar situation, but not the pleasing one, after the Growling Tigers forced a do-or-die Game Three with a come-from-behind 62-56 win in Game Two behind Ferrer’s 24-point explosion last Saturday.
Last season, the Tamaraws were also up 1-0 in their best-of-three championship series against National University but the Bulldogs won the next two to end their 54-year title drought.
“We’re so close of winning it. It’s a good thing it is a series. The best part of it, we won the first game, and we look forward to that third game,” Racela told reporters after their Game Two loss.
“Same scenario last year at this point but we’re looking at a different outcome. That’s our goal,” he added.
FEU picked up what it left of in their 75-64 series opener, taking a 30-21 halftime lead in Game Two before Ferrer became unconscious and rattled six three-pointers in the third quarter and single-handedly brought UST back.
But the Tamaraws seemed to have regained their composure back after that Ferrer onslaught, as they took a 54-50 lead, but the Growling Tigers finished the game with a 12-2 salvo to level the series.
“We lost by six points. We had a chance in the end game despite the explosion by the co-MVP [Most Valuable Player],” said Racela, referring to Ferrer, whom MVP Kiefer Ravena of Ateneo de Manila shared his award to UST star forward prior Game Two.
“We missed 15 free throws and we shot 29 percent from the field. If we correct a few of those things, maybe we will have a better chance on Wednesday.”
The FEU mentor also mentioned a lot of noncalls on their players and hopes his Tams will play better on those noncalls by the referees.
Racela also downplayed Mile Tolomia’s Game Two horrific-shooting game, saying that it was not a concern at this point, and expects his veteran guard to come back stronger in Game Three.
Tolomia finished with seven points, all at the free-throw line, as he shot 0-of-15 from the field.
And one of his main men, Roger Pogoy, failed to finish the game due to leg cramps.
“Looking at the statistics, despite all those struggles, it was a very close game. If we shot five more free throws and Mike hit one of his three-point attempts, it could have been a different ball game,” Racela said.
“It’s a little bit of frustration on the part of the players. The bigger question now is what do you do after? I’m confident we can bounce back,” he added.
The do-or-die Game Three is set on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Image credits: NONIE REYES