Tams turn back gutsy Maroons, stay at 2nd

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern U drew another solid effort from prolific rookie RR Garcia as it turned back State U, 86-74, yesterday to close in on a twice-to-beat Final Four incentive in the 72nd UAAP basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

University of the East, meanwhile, turned to its defense when its offense faltered at endgame as it edged La Salle, 66-64, to inch closer to a return trip to the semis.

Fresh from a career best 25-point explosion in their 84-75 win over Adamson Thursday at the Big Dome, Garcia was on the attack mode again, churning out 17 points including 11 in the second half when the Tams built enough cushion to weather the Maroons’ late rally.

Notching a 10th victory in 12 outings, FEU moved within a win of a guaranteed finish in the Top Two. The Tams play the Archers and the Ateneo Eagles in their last two games.

“It’s really our goal to stay in the top two and go to the Final Four with the twice-to-beat incentive,” said FEU coach Glenn Capacio.

The Warriors nearly squandered a 17-point lead, relying on defense at crunch time to firm up their hold of third place with a seventh win against four losses.

“There’s still a chance for us to become No. 2 and we’re really hoping for that,” said UE coach Lawrence Chongson.

Pari Llagas came through with 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while Elmer Espiritu and Paul Lee scattered 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Warriors who scored a two-game sweep over the Archers this season.

“It was sweet for me because I can still remember our loss to them in 2007,” said Llagas, a part of the UE Warriors that swept the 2007 eliminations only to get swept by the Archers in the finals.

The Archers moved on the brink of elimination as they suffered a seventh defeat against only four wins.

La Salle has yet to miss the Final Four in 11 years under coach Franz Pumaren.

“It’s not in our hands anymore but we’re not losing hope,” said Pumaren

The Archers clawed their way back from 17 points down, surging ahead at 64-61 on a triple by Hyram Bagatsing with a little over three minutes remaining.

Alas, the Archers didn’t score a basket anymore from there.

They still had a chance to force overtime but Joshua Webb was called for a traveling violation in La Salle’s final offensive thrust.