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Sports

Tams halt Eagles, claim No. 1 slot

- Joey Villar -
Defending champion Far Eastern U grabbed the Final Four top seeding and pushed Ateneo to a virtual best-of-three playoff with arch rival La Salle as the Tamaraws repulsed the Eagles, 65-51, at the close of the UAAP seniors basketball eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

The Tamaraws used a torrid third-quarter attack to roll past the Eagles and onto the top of the ladder that gave them a decisive twice-to-beat advantage over fourth seed the University of the East Warriors.

FEU, which topped the elims with an 11-3 win-loss record, needs to beat UE only once to make it to the best-of-three title series.

Ending up tied with identical 10-4 cards, the Eagles and the Archers figure in a virtual best-of-three playoff since they dispute first the No. 2 ranking in a game Tuesday. The winner gains the other twice-to-beat incentive in the semis.

"We were a changed team in the second half. It showed that great teamwork really works," said coach Koy Banal, who steered the Tams to a fifth Final Four stint in the last six years.

Working better on both ends of the court after the halftime break, the Tams raced ahead, 49-35, going into the final quarter.

Arwind Santos made eight of his 15 points in the third quarter where FEU outscored Ateneo, 24-6.

Jonathan Cutler, who is curiously a former Ateneo de Davao student, also had significant contribution in that pivotal period, knocking in two clutch triples while playing in place the foul-troubled Dennis Miranda.

Cutler also tallied two assists, one steal and one rebound, and put up a decent defensive job on LA Tenorio.

Tenorio, who exploded for 25 points when Ateneo edged FEU, 67-64, in the first round, was limited to just seven points on a 2-of-11 shooting.

FEU made its move early, erecting a 14-4 lead, but Ateneo made a counterattack in the second quarter to seize a 29-25 lead at the half.

Earlier, Adamson leaned on the superb efforts of Patrick Cabahug and Kenneth Bono as the Falcons downed the Santo Tomas Tigers, 72-61, to match their 5-9 slate last year.

The Tigers finished seventh with a 4-10 slate.

Meanwhile, Nestle Non-stop presents the UAAP cheerdance competition today at 2 p.m. with the Salinggawi of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines’ cheerdancers expected to fight for the top honors.

ARANETA COLISEUM

ARWIND SANTOS

ATENEO

DENNIS MIRANDA

EAGLES AND THE ARCHERS

FAR EASTERN U

FINAL FOUR

JONATHAN CUTLER

KOY BANAL

LA SALLE

NESTLE NON

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