Tams oust Falcons, secure Final 4 slot

Games today

(Mall of Asia Arena)

2 p.m. – UE vs AdMU

4 p.m. – DLSU vs NU

STANDINGS        W            L

* NU      9              3

* FEU    9              4

DLSU     8              4

UST        7              5

ADMU  6              5

UE          5              6

AdU       4              9

UP          0              12

* clinched Final Four slot

MANILA, Philippines - Terrence Romeo exploded for a season-high 32 points to lead a hot-shooting Far Eastern to a 92-80 drubbing of Adamson and a qualifying berth in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tourney at the Mall of Asia Arena yesterday.

Romeo’s  sizzling scoring, complemented by a season-best 56.1 percent accuracy (37-of-66) overall by the team, propelled the on-target Tams to their ninth win in 13 games, assuring themselves of a place in the semis along with pacesetting NU (9-3).

“I wrote only thing on the board during our pre-game: F4. This is just to remind the team that it was our initial goal. We told them it’s within our reach and all we had to do is get it today. I think we’ve taken a major step,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.

It was good redemption for the Tams after missing out last season’s semis under ex-mentor Bert Flores.

Making up for his relatively poor shooting in their two losses prior to the game, Romeo connected 13 of his 24 field goal attempts, including three triple conversions, to go with eight rebounds and four assists. He made six consecutive points in a 19-3 third-quarter salvo that handed FEU a 63-45 cushion, from which the Falcons (4-9) couldn’t recover.

“Galing ako sa hindi magandang shooting last two games kaya nung practice nag-extra shooting ako (I came off poor shooting the last two games so I did some  extra shooting in practice and it paid off),” said Romeo.

The fourth-year guard recorded his second 30-point output this season, joining NU’s Bobby Ray Parks and AdU’s Patrick Cabahug in the elite list of players with at least two 30-pointers in a season since 2003.

Mark Belo added 18 markers for FEU, firing seven straight points to spark FEU’s breakaway in the penultimate period, to go with nine rebounds and three assists. RR Garcia added 14 points and dished out six feeds.

The Tams made it back to the F4 even with a 2-4 record in the second round so far. 

“We don’t dwell on other games. The way we look at it, we’re 9-4 after 13 games and the important thing is we’re back to where we originally belong, which is in the Final Four,” said Racela, whose wards will cap their elims against UP on Wednesday, targeting the Top 2.

Celedonio Trollano shot a personal-best 25 points, spiked by three triples to led vacation-bound AdU.

Earlier, University of Santo Tomas tripped an anemic-shooting University of the Philippines, 63-39, to  seize solo fourth spot with a 7-5 card.

The Tigers choked the Maroons to six points in the fourth quarter and a woeful shooting clip of 15-of-81 overall to score their third straight victory and get a better position in the heated race for a Final Four slot.

The Maroons’ cold 18.5 percent marksmanship was the worst in the last 10 years, dislodging the 22.4 percent of Adamson in a losing game to Far Eastern in 2004, while their 39-point tally was also the lowest since 2003, tying National U’s output in a 2011 setback to Ateneo.