Adrian Santos of UE passes the ball under the heavy defense of FEU center Aldrech Ramos (Ralph Samson/FCF)

GAMES SATURDAY (July 23, 2011)
Araneta Coliseum
1:00pm – De La Salle vs. State U
3:00pm – East vs. Ateneo

GAME SUMMARY

FINAL
(2 – 1)		(0 – 3)
66 – 47
QUARTERS 1 2 3 4 FAR EASTERN 6 24 15 21 EAST 12 9 7 19
STATISTICAL LEADERS POINTS FEU Exciminiano 12 UE Noble 11 REBOUNDS FEU Tolomia 12 UE Santos 9 ASSISTS FEU Garcia 3 UE Tagarda 4
KEY STATS FEU UE TURNOVER POINTS 29 9 3PT FIELD GOALS (PCT) 4/18 (22%) 0/8 (0%) FREE THROWS (PCT) 12/15 (80%) 9/18 (50%)

An old basketball adage that goes “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish” would perfectly summarize this showdown between two neighboring universities in the U-Belt area.

Despite a very sluggish start to the contest, Far Eastern University rebounded from a forgettable loss to Adamson with an easy 66-47 victory over University of the East in Thursday’s featured UAAP men’s basketball match at the Big Dome.

With a fairly balanced scoring squad, anchored by Chris Exciminiano’s 12 points in the ballgame, the Charging Tamaraws overcame a 2-12 start to the contest to eventually outscore the Red Warriors 24-9 in the second period to eventually take full command in the ballgame in the third period and would never look back.

FEU rookies Cris Tolomia and Russel Escoto filled up the stat sheets, with Tolomia tallying 9 points and Escoto putting up 8 points and 12 rebounds.

Rookie head coach Jerry Codiñera’s wards, though badly beaten in this ballgame, once again showed flashes of brillance through the quick start that staggered the FEU resolve early on in the ballgame. However, the shallow bench proved to be a huge problem as they could not sustain the same intensity they showed in the first 12 minutes of the ballgame and eventually fell prey to the more poised Tams.

JM Noble led the Warriors with 11, while Adrian Santos added 10 points and 9 rebounds.

UE is now 0-3 for the second straight season and looks to bounce back with a potentially season-changing win against the still-undefeated Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles on Saturday at 4pm.

Meanwhile, FEU climbs up the ladder with a 2-1 count and is slated to meet a struggling National University unit on Sunday afternoon.

Photos of this game may be viewed here.

BOX SCORE
FAR EASTERN (66): Exciminiano 12, Tolomia 9, Escoto 8, Cawaling 8, Romeo 7, Garcia 7, Ramos 6, Pogoy 5, Foronda 2, Cruz 2, Sentcheu 0, Fabian 0, Mendoza 0, Bringas 0, Knuttel 0
EAST (47): Noble 11, Santos 10, Sumang 6, Casajeros 6, Duran 5, Javier 3, De Leon 2, Zamar 2, Tagarda 2, Zosa 0, Sabangan 0, Enguio 0, Sumido 0, Flores 0
Quarters: 6-12, 30-21, 45-28, 66-47