Tams ground Cards for quarterfinal seat

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern University seized control early and went on to post a lopsided 86-72 win over Mapua to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Filoil Flying V First Five Invitational Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Pipo Noundou came away with 20 points while RR Garcia added 16 points for the Tams, who notched their fifth victory against two losses to join Jose Rizal U (6-1) and San Sebastian (5-1) in the quarterfinal round of the tournament presented by Mighty Bond Extreme.

The Cards bowed out of contention with a 2-5 card.

The Tams raced to their biggest lead at 20, 55-35, with 3:11 to go in the third period on a basket from Chris Exciminiano.

“We’re happy we’re in the quarterfinals. But we need to win tomorrow (today) to improve our ranking,” said FEU coach Glenn Capacio, whose Tams battle the Stags at resumption of action today.

Earlier, St. Benilde surprised National University, 54-52, for its win after six tries. The Bulldogs dropped to 2-5.

Meanwhile, San Beda and La Salle clash today with both teams pressing their quarterfinal drives.

The Red Lions tote a 4-1 card in Group A while the Archers are out to improve their 3-2 slate in the tournament backed by Total Phils. Corp., San Marino Corned Tuna, Accel, Filoil Gas Company, Flying V and Hanesbrands, the official outfitter.

In junior play, Kiefer Ravena came through with a buzzer-beating triple as Ateneo pulled off a 71-68 thriller over Emilio Aguinaldo College-Immaculate Conception Academy.

Ravena came off the bench to fire 21 points, including the game winner, as the Katipunan-based squad clinched an outright semifinals berth with a 5-0 record in Group A.

“I was not expecting that I could nail the basket,” said Ravena. “But I really wanted to execute that play down the stretch. So in case we miss the chance of nailing the victory, I’ll take full responsibility. I guess that’s one of my roles as captain of the team.”

Ravena, who was supposed to join the team only in the semis along with Von Pessumal and Paolo Romero following a recent training in the US with the national team, came straight from the airport and suited up for the team early.

The Blue Eaglets posted a 46-36 lead in the third period but had to thwart the Brigadiers’ fourth quarter surge that saw the latter grab a 61-55 lead with four minutes left.

But Ravena, held to only five points in the first three periods, unloaded 10 straight points in the final three minutes that pulled the Eaglets to a 68-65 lead with 4.6 seconds remaining.

The Brigadiers, however, refused to give up as Jeremiah Cuello rifled in a triple with 1.7 seconds left to tie the count at 68.

In the second game, San Beda likewise zeroed in on the other semis seat as it crushed Mapua, 73-61.