Photo by Ralph Samson
No matter how ugly it was, a win is still a win.
Despite turning the ball over in their penultimate possession and getting away with an arguable non-call, Far Eastern University escaped with a 65-62 squeaker against Adamson University en route to a 3-0 record in UAAP seniors basketball action on Thursday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Tamaraws needed a booming three from former most valuable player RR Garcia and a three-point play from Terence Romeo to erect an erstwhile comfortable 65-60 approaching the tail end of the game.
The Falcons, however, never gave up with veteran forward Eric Camson swishing two free throws in the last 30 seconds while reserve Harry Petilos stole a crucial inbound pass from Michael Tolomia with ten seconds left.
Despite a botched pass to Falcon rookie guard Jericho Cruz, center Rodney Brondial managed to issue a pass to shooting forward Roider Cabrera, whose three point shot was blocked by Romeo. However, a replay video showed a slight hit by Romeo on Cabrera’s shooting arm, which was vehemently complained by Adamson coach Leo Austria.
Even if the Tamaraws erected a ten-point lead in the first half, coach Bert Flores said that their three wins were still not impressive as they still could not dictate the tempo of their games.
Fielding mostly second stringers and benching star player Alex Nuyles for most of the second half, Austria’s team battled back by playing a 1-3-1 full court press anchored on 6’1” playmaker Gino Etrone and reserve Gian Abrigo.
Flores, however, countered the Falcons stingy defense by fielding his three main guards Romeo, Garcia, and Tolomia in the entire fourth quarter.
Romeo, who scored 14 points in the first half, finished the game with 23 points and six assists to lead the Tamaraws while Etrone led the Falcons with 13 points.
Despite leading the league, the Tamaraws won by an average margin of only two points.
In the first game, National University bounced back from a blowout loss with a 67-50 rout of University of the Philippines.
Dominating the paint the entire ballgame, the Bulldogs limited State U to 18 first half points to take away the game for good.
Emmanuel Mbe tallied a dominating 17 points and 16 rebounds to lead the season’s host while Mike Silungan and Jett Manuel each scored 11 points for the lethargic Maroons.
The Bulldogs are tied for second with De La Salle University and the Ateneo de Manila with a 2-1 record while the Maroons, along with the Falcons and the University of the East Red Warriors occupy the tournament doormat with a 0-2 record.
First game
NATIONAL (67): Parks 18, Mbe 17, Javillonar 9, Roño 7, Alolino 6, Ignacio 4, Villamor 4, De Guzman 2, Betayene 0, Labing-isa 0, Neypes 0, Rosario 0, Singh 0
UP (50): Manuel 11, Silungan 11, Montecastro 10, Asilum 4, Ball 4, Hipolito 4, Lopez 4, Soyud 2, Gamboa 0, Mbah 0, Padilla 0, Romero 0
QUARTERS: 16-10, 42-18, 52-26, 67-50
Second game
FAR EASTERN (65): Romeo 23, Garcia 12, Belo 9, Tolomia 6, Escoto 5, Bringas A. 4, Hargrove 4, Bringas M. 2, Cruz 0, Pogoy 0
ADAMSON (62): Etrone 13, Brondial 11, Camson 11, Cruz 8, Petilos 7, Abrigo 4, Cabrera 4, Nuyles 2, Trollano 2, Agustin 0, Julkipli 0, Monteclaro 0, Rios 0
QUARTERS: 15-15, 35-28, 50-49, 65-62
