Rookies carry Tams to finals versus Eagles

MANILA, Philippines - Finding unlikely heroes in rookies Chris Michael Tolomia and Russel Escoto, Far Eastern U turned back No. 2 Adamson for the second time in a row, 78-74, to book a return trip to the UAAP Season 74 men’s championship series against holders Ateneo.

Tolomia fired a game-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half, while Escoto held his own inside with 10 points and nine rebounds as the Tams followed up their 59-49 triumph over AdU, becoming the seventh No. 3 seed to overcome No. 2’s twice-to-beat edge and reach the finals under the Final Four format.

“My two rookies did a good job today; RR Garcia (11 points) did not have a great game but they stepped up. I really believe that they can deliver for us, that’s why I’ve been motivating them to come out,” said FEU coach Bert Flores, who was consultant when the Tams lost to the Eagles, 0-2, in last year’s finale.

Guard Tolomia torched the hoops with nine in the third quarter as the Tams seized control and opened up a 57-47 lead, keeping the Falcons at bay at 74-65 on a basket by the lanky Escoto at the 2:07 mark of the fourth.

But graduating player Jerick Cañada spearheaded a searing fightback for AdU, firing eight of his 14 points in the stretch to put the Falcons to within 74-76, 51.2 seconds left.

From there, the Tams kept ball possession despite missing one shot after another, leading to two charities by Terrence Romeo with 4 seconds left that all but settled the issue, putting an end to what had been AdU’s storybook campaign this year.

“We succeeded at stopping Alex Nuyles and Lester Alvarez,” said Flores, referring to the AdU stalwarts who finished with 12 and nine, respectively. “We also did a better job at the boards (54-35) despite having manpower at the post due to injuries.”

At the peak of their three-year program this year, the Falcons blew their best chance to reach the finals for the first time since 1992. The squad responsible for Ateneo’s lone loss so far would have to start all over next season with key players Cañada, Alvarez, Jan Colina and Janus Lozada having completed their playing years.

Four-peat-seeking Ateneo and FEU begin their best-of-three titular duel on Saturday.

Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University bagged two championships each – in taekwondo and beach volleyball – as the race for the general championship heats up in UAAP Season 74.

UST won the men’s title and FEU bagged the women’s crown in taekwondo last Saturday at The Arena in San Juan.

The Tamaraws, on the other hand, annexed the men’s plum and the Tigresses the women’s title in beach volleyball at the University of the East (UE)-Caloocan sand court yesterday.

UST has won 38 general championship trophies since an overall title was awarded in Season 10 of the 74-year-old league, while FEU is a far second with 16.

The Tigers snatched their 10th men’s taekwondo crown via a 5-0 sweep of Season 74 which they capped with a 5-2 victory over De La Salle last Saturday. De La Salle, the Season 73 champions, placed second on a 4-1 card.