Tigers outlast Falcons; Warriors trim Maroons

Alwyn Espiritu poured in 12 of his 21 points in the final quarter yesterday as Santo Tomas, off to its worst start in recent years, wore down Adamson, 69-55, in the 64th UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Ateneo Gym.

The Tigers are in danger of missing the Final Four for the first time since winning four straight crowns until 1996. They won only twice in seven games in the first round, with yesterday’s victory against the winless Falcons giving them some ray of hope in the second round.

The Tigers, struggling this year following the exit of players like Marvin Ortiguerra, Cyrus Baguio and Gilbert Lao, improved to 3-5 but still face an uphill battle to reach the Final Four where they lost to eventual champion La Salle last year.

The loss was the eighth straight for the Falcons this season and actually their 28th in a row since beating FEU in August of 1999. It was also the 22nd straight loss for Luigi Trillo since he took over as Adamson coach last year.

In the other game, University of the East relied on James Yap’s clutch baskets to halt a three-game losing skid with a 66-60 victory over University of the Philippines. The Warriors joined National University at 4-4 while the Maroons fell to 2-6.

After firing blanks in the first half, Yap suddenly caught fire, drilling in four triples on his way to 16 points.

Meanwhile, UAAP president and FEU team manager Anton Montinola yesterday slammed La Salle coach Franz Pumaren for accusing FEU officials of doing nothing to prevent the ugly melee that took place Saturday after the Archers posted a 63-62 victory.

"Franz should watch his mouth. It’s not true that we did not do anything to prevent that incident from happening. The mobbing of the referee was uncalled for but in fact, I tried to help him from being mobbed," said Montinola.

FEU supporters mobbed referee Raffy Britanico after the game for calling a foul on FEU’s Dennis Miranda against a driving Mike Cortez with only 2.4 seconds left and the score tied at 62-62. Cortez split his charities and La Salle went on to win the tight contest.

"As host team, FEU must set an example. Wala man lang kasi ako nakitang FEU official na nag-pacify sa crowd. Why instigate a riot. The tape won’t lie and there was clearly a foul," said Pumaren.

Chot Reyes, president of the Asian Basketball Academy which oversees the running of the league, said there was indeed a foul committed on Cortez but added that it should have been on Ryzal Castro, and not Miranda.

A replay of the game’s final play showed Castro’s hand grazing the head of Cortez as the La Salle guard went for the layup. The foul, however, was called on Miranda, who was also near the action.