Diminutive guard Jacqueline Tanaman made the biggest plays for Far Eastern University (FEU) as they force a do-or-die duel for the last spot in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77 women’s basketball finals following their 61-56 win on Thursday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Tanaman, who led their comeback from 12 points down at halftime, nearly completed a triple-double output of 16 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in their biggest game of the season so far.
On the receiving end of her six assists during the fourth quarter was April Siat, who put up 11 of her team-leading 21 during the period with nine rebounds.
The win extends their life in the tournament, forcing an extra showdown at 1:30pm on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena for the right to face unbeaten National University in the finals. The Lady Bulldogs hold an automatic 1-0 advantage in the virtual best-of-five showdown for the title.
From the double-digit deficit at the break, the Lady Tams slowly chipped away at the defending champions’ lead courtesy of key baskets by both Siat and Tanaman, compounded by the Lady Archers’ inability to take care of the basketball that resulted in seven turnovers in the third period.
At the start of the fourth period, the tide finally changed towards FEU’s favor on a 9-0 blast at the start of the fourth period to take the lead, 46-45, on a two-man game between Siat and Tanaman with 6:53 left in the fourth.
But with Trisha Piatos tying the game at 48-all on a three-pointer from the right wing, the trio of Precious Arellado, Tanaman, and Siat strung together an 8-2 surge to put off another De La Salle run and seize control for good, 56-50, with 3:13 left.
“At the break, I just reminded them to play as Lady Tamaraws,” said FEU’s fourth-year Head Coach Allan Albano. “Hindi kami mag-give up at palaban. Yun lang ang sinabi ko sa kanila, tapos nag-adjust sila sa ginawa ng De La Salle. They showed the character as Lady Tamaraws.”
“Lahat ng natira sa team, mga role player lang dati kahit si Jackie Tanaman. Wala na akong magawa, kundi kinausap ko si Jackie na ikaw na ang magtake over. Yun lang ang utos ko sa kanya,” Albano stressed.
“Wala na kasi ako yung mga do-it-all players na sila [Raiza] Palmera, [Allana] Lim, at [Camille] Sambile, and everybody can step up.”
“We lost a lot our discipline in the second half. We didn’t defend the perimeter players of FEU come second half, and we made incursions in the lane that gave FEU opportunites for the bigs both outside and inside,” said De La Salle Head Coach Tyrone Bautista to Fullcourtfresh.com.
“The two-man plays between Tanaman and Siat really lifted them back in the ballgame. I guess we just have to adjust our matchup with them, at the same time take a different look on the pick-and-roll situation.”
Nicole Garcia tallied 15 points, while Cass Santos added 11 for De La Salle.
