(FCF / Andrew Pamorada)
Far Eastern University, led by Terrence Romeo, climbed from a 13 point deficit late in the fourth quarter to force the game into overtime, eventually outlasting De La Salle University down the stretch, 83-79.
Romeo led all scorers with 25 points along with 5 crucial assists and two steals while RR Garcia and Belo added in 19 and 10, respectively.
Jeron Teng had a similar 25 point output tied with 15 rebounds. Van Opstal continued his fine form with a double double of his own after draining 60% of his field goals to score 20 along with 11 rebounds. Perkins slid in 10 points, 6 of which came from beyond the arc.
La Salle, unfortunately, continued their poor free throw shooting by converting just 15 of their 26 trips to the stripe when compared to FEU’s near-flawless 10-of-11 makes from the line. Jeron Teng, in particular, only converted 3-of-11 which resulted into the FEU comeback.
FEU converted 52% of their shots from the paint while La Salle drained 42.9%. Moreover, Both teams did a good job in rebounding with La Salle edging FEU with just one rebound at 52-51.
The Tamaraws started out strong with Pogoy and Bello draining two consecutive treys before Jeron Teng and Jason Perkins drained baskets of their own to keep La Salle just behind FEU . The Tamaraws, shortly after, erected an 8-point lead thanks to a layup by Romeo. Arnold Van Opstal, however, was able to drain most of his free throw attempts to cut FEU’s lead down to 2 at 14-12. The reigning Rookie of the Year put finally put La Salle in front at 18-17 before Almond Vosotros demonstrated his hot hand with a trifecta just before the end of the first at 21-17.
Revilla drained his first shot of the game to open the Green Archers’ offense in the second before Teng added in another. Pogoy, Romeo, and Garcia, however, was able to answer back. La Salle then started to pressure FEU’s defense with the former’s aggressive offensive tempo, forcing the Tamaraws to commit fouls with the Green Archers managed to take advantage of. Hargrove managed to cut La Salle’s lead to 1 at 32-31 before Belo put FEU on top after a putback from a miss by Garcia.
Romeo drained 5 straight points to put the Tamaraws on top at 46 – 39 with 7:11 left on the quarter. De La Paz finally broke FEU’s scoring run with a trey before Teng added in 2 at 44-46. Gryann Mendoza, however, answered back to restore FEU’s lead to 4.
Arnold Van Opstal, who is arguably the steadiest free throw shooter in the squad, converted a number of crucial trips to the stripe to keep DLSU within striking distance. Jason Perkins drained another three to put La Salle ahead at 56-54 before Teng added in a last minute layup to finish the third quarter strong at 58-54.
Thomas Torres slid in two layups before Almond Vosotros drained a trifecta on the wing to give La Salle a 9-point lead. Luigi de la Paz added another trifecta after a reverse layup by Van Opstal to give DLSU its biggest lead of the game at 73-60.
Romeo then drained two consecutive treys in the hopes of getting his team back in the game, and his individual efforts proved to be effective as the Tamaraws managed to overcome La Salle’s lead, sending the game into overtime thanks to contributions by Belo and Garcia.
Romeo continued his efforts, energizing the entire squad with two cinsecutive assists to put FEU on top at 81-78. After missing both of his free throws, Jeron Teng managed to grab his own miss as well as getting fouled in the process. Teng managed to convert 1 free throw, but this proved to be insufficient as the FEU Tamaraws remain undefeated while DLSU drops down with a 2-2 record.
BOX SCORES
FAR EASTERN (83): Romeo 25, Garcia 19, Belo 10, Tolomia 9, Pogoy 9, Hargrove 4, Cruz 4, Mendoza 2, Jose 1, Senchu 0
DE LA SALLE (79): Teng 25, Van Opstal 20, Perkins 10, De la Paz 9, Vosotros 8, T. Torres 4, Revilla 3, N. Torres 0, Tampus 0, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Bollick 0
QUARTERS: 21-17, 34-35, 58-54, 75-75, 83-79 (OT)
