Tams silence Tigers, join Eagles at helm

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas Pilipinas standout Mark Barroca came out with his best effort of the season as he powered Far Eastern U to a 75-67 win over Santo Tomas and into a share of the lead with reigning titlist Ateneo in the 72nd UAAP basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

Barroca fired 23 points including 10 in the second quarter when they turned the tide as the Tams booked their seventh straight victory in eight matches to join the Eagles on top.

“We really needed someone to lead the team – I’m happy he carried the team in this game,” said FEU coach Glenn Capacio of his gutsy team captain.

The Tams also drew strength from other sources in the absence of starting center Reil Cervantes, who served out a one-game suspension for nearly coming to blows with University of the East’s Pari Llagas in their game last week.

Cameroonian Pipo Noundou had 11 points and 12 rebounds while second stringers Paul Sanga and Edgar Tanuan each contributed eight points to fill the huge Cervantes void.

“We know we’ll be playing without Reil so I challenged the other players to step up. They responded to it,” said Capacio.

Earlier, Martin and Miguel Reyes conspired in the second half as the two carried State U to a fight-marred 78-76 triumph, their second in eight outings.

Reyes, a four-year veteran, exploded for 15 of his team high 17 points while the younger Reyes, a rookie out of La Salle-Greenhills, erupted for 12 out his 14 points to lead the Maroons to the tension-filled win.

Jewel Ponferrada and Jerome Tungcul were tossed out of the game for bench-clearing in the middle of the second quarter and face a one-game suspension. 

The result sent the Maroons and the Bulldogs in a three-way tie at sixth spot on 2-6 cards and, if they could pull off a sweep of their remaining games, could still make it to the Final Four.

Joseph Hermosisima scored a career-high 25 points while Denmark Cabaluna unloaded 16 points but the Bulldogs missed the 6’6” Ponferrada, the team’s leading rebounder and the league’s top shot blocker.

Dylan Ababou, a Smart Gilas Pilipinas standout like Barroca, paced the Tigers with 23 points but the Tams put the cuffs on Khasim Mirza and rookie sensation Jeric Teng.       – Joey Villar