Games Thursday (July 28, 2011)
Philsports Arena
1:00pm – Adamson vs. East
3:00pm – National vs. De La Salle
Far Eastern University triumphed over National University, 62-59, in the continuation of the 74th UAAP men’s basketball wars on Sunday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Terrence Romeo of FEU drives to the lane against Denice Villamor of NU. (Vyn Radovan/FCF)
Reigning MVP RR Garcia topped the scoreboard for the Tamaraws with 17 points, followed by Aldrech Ramos who put up 9 along with 11 rebounds. Terrence Romeo, who buried the game-deciding jumper with 1:08 left in the fourth, added 7 points in a sub-par performance.
Rookies Joshua Alolino and Bobby Ray Parks led the scoring for the Bulldogs with 12 and 11 respectively. Jul-Ashri Ignacio and Joseph Terso contributed 10 each.
The first quarter was dominated by FEU and finished strong, 23-17.
Coming into the second quarter, NU outscored FEU 8-2, trying the game at 25. RR Garcia and Chris Excimiano combined for 6 points, increasing their lead. However, 5 consecutive fouls on three Tamaraws gave NU a chance to score points. Joseph Terso ended the game with a perimeter shot, giving NU a 37-35 lead.
A foul on RR Garcia and a Technical foul on FEU awarded Ignacio and Parks two freethrows each. Another foul by Cawaling on Parks allowed the rookie another visit to the freethrow line. Ramos countered this by scoring two and Cameroonian Christian Sentcheu pulled off a dunk. Despite this, NU was still leading at the end of the third quarter, 53-54.
The game could have gone either way given the dismal shooting in the fourth, but the deciding factor occurred during the last two minutes when Tolomia hit a crucial three-point shot, giving FEU a one point lead, which was soon succeeded by Romeo’s long-range jumper.
Coach Bert Flores stressed that his team still lacked the aggressiveness from his centers, especially with the loss of many key big men including Reil Cervantes and Pipo Nondou, who is out with an Achilles injury.
The Tamaraws are now 3-1 and take over sole possession of second place behind three-time defending champion Ateneo de Manila University, while the Sampaloc dribblers under rookie head coach Eric Altamirano continue their slide down the standings with a 1-3 record.
Game photos can be found here.
BOX SCORES
FAR EASTERN (62): Garcia 17, Ramos 9, Tolomia 7, Sentcheu 7, Romeo 8, Cawaling 6, Exciminiano 5, Foronda 2, Cruz 2, Escoto 0, Mendoza 0, Bringas 0
NATIONAL (59): Alolino 12, Parks 11, Ignacio 10, Terso 10, Celiz 4, Mbe 3, Singh 3, Eman 2, Khobuntin 2, Javillonar 2, Villamor 0, Neypes 0, Celda 0, Magat 0
Quarters: 23-17, 35-37, 53-54, 62-59
