MANILA, Philippines — The Far Eastern University Tamaraws boosted their Final Four hopes in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament after pushing the Ateneo Blue Eagles to the brink of elimination, 65-54, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Struggling to string together wins in the first round, FEU is now knocking on the Final Four door as they rose to 5-8 in the season. Ateneo, meanwhile, dropped to 3-9 and is now in danger of missing the semifinals.
Janrey Pasaol finished with a career-high 14 points seven rebounds, six assists and two steals to go with just one turnover. He shot an efficient 5-of-8 from the field.
Rojan Montemayor added 13 markers, while Mo Konateh had 11 points and 21 rebounds.
After leading by just four, 33-29, at the half, the Tamaraws pushed the pace and grounded the Blue Eagles in the second half.
The lead grew to 12, 54-42, after a late 3-pointer by Veejay Pre in the third quarter.
FEU increased its lead to 14 early on in the fourth, 59-45, following a layup by Konateh.
But Ateneo fought back, unleashing seven straight points to cut the lead to deficit, 52-59.
Konateh halted the blitz with a layup, which was taken back shortly after by Ong.
The two teams then traded misses, which worked to FEU’s favor as the clock melted.
Timely misses down the stretch by the Blue Eagles secured the Tamaraws’ fourth win in six contests in the second round.
Jorick Bautista and Royce Alforque had eight apiece for the Morayta-based squad.
Ian Espinosa was the lone Ateneo player in double digits with 14 points, six assists and two rebounds off the bench. Jared Bahay had nine, while Kristian Porter had eight.
FEU’s last elimination game will be next Saturday against University of the Philippines at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Ateneo, for its part, will try to finish the season strong as it faces University of the East on Wednesday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.