Tigers, Tams escape eliminated foes

The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers and Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws triumphed over their opponents today to heighten their battle for a final four spot in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Tigers needed a 16-0 explosion in the fourth quarter to escape the University of the Philippines  (UP) Fighting Maroons, 75-68, while the Tamaraws subdued a last-minute chase by the feisty University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 83-78.

Down 54-59 halfway in the fourth quarter, the torrid UST run was sparked by a back-to-back three-point play by team captain Jeric Fortuna while power forward Aljon Mariano poured in nine of his 16 points in that stretch to finish State U.

The Tigers, now at solo second place with a 9-3 record, were led by Cameroonian center Karim Abdul, who tallied 16 points and 21 rebounds. Mariano co-topscored with 16 points while Fortuna, who played with flu, had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Maroons were led by Jelo Montecastro with 15 points as State U went further down the standing at 1-11. Mike Silungan added 14 points while Raoul Soyud 11 points and six blocks.

In the second game, the Tamaraws exploded offensively to score a season best 83 points against the resurgent Red Warriors.

Terence Romeo led FEU with 24 points while small forward Roger Pogoy added a career-high 17 points. Roi Sumang scored a career-high 27 points for the Red Warriors.

The Tamaraws went back at solo third and half-a-game behind UST with an 8-3 record as their win against the National University Bulldogs on September 2 was nullified yesterday by the UAAP board. The game will be reset on September 23.

The Warriors, tallying their first win streak of the season after previously defeating UP and the Ateneo Blue Eagles, drop at 3-9.