Baby Tams wallop Xavier

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern U rode on a big third quarter run to beat Xavier School, 84-69, for its first win in the third FREEGO Filipino-Chinese Basketball League (FCBL) Cup at the Phil. Buddhacare gym in QC recently.

Leading by just five at halftime, FEU leaned on Aaron Fabian, who sparked the Baby Tamaraws’ surge at the start of the second half en route to the easy win in the annual high school cagefest supported by Smart Communications.

Fabian finished with a team-high 21 points, earning the Freego Best Player of the Game honor. Jetrix Rono had 18 points while Mico Custodio and Mark Tanoy tossed in 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Jeron Teng netted 25 points for Xavier, which dropped its opening game of the tournament backed by Mighty Sports, Energen, Colt Commercial, Star Galaxy Industrial Fabricator Inc., Powerbest Marketing Inc., Mandarin Sky Seafood & Shabu-Shabu Restaurant, Multimotors Auto Part Inc. and Apple Tape.

In other games, Mapua and Ateneo nailed their second straight wins against separate rivals. The Red Robbins held off University of Santo Tomas, 78-76, while the Blue Eaglets squeaked past Chiang Kai Shek, 77-76.

Andrew Estrella and Ian Valdez each had 20 points for Mapua, which posted a 2-0 card start in Group A. E.J. Corre led the Tiger Cubs with 20 while Aaron Cabanatan and JP Sarcia added 15 apiece for the España-based team.

Kiefer Ravena led four Ateneo players in double figures with 14 to join Mapua at the top of the standings in Group A. John Baytan and Paul Aduana each had 22 for CKSC, which fell to 0-2.