MANILA, Philippines -- Far Eastern U detonated a lethal 12-0 bomb in the payoff period to set the stage for a 75-58 drubbing of University of the Philippines and grab a share of the lead in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tourney Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Hard earned win; sabi nga namin, this week will be tough as we’re playing three teams who like to press,” said FEU coach Nash Racela, referring to UP, University of the East on Wednesday and Adamson on Sunday.
“Right now our problem is we’re having too many turnovers. We had 23 today which was actually an improvement from last game’s 24. But I think we played better in the second half,” he said.
The telling 12-0 run swayed momentum to the Tams, who racked up their second straight win for 3-1 overall and a tie with idle University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo atop the standings.
“I think everything started with defense. We made it really tough for UP in the second half, unlike early on when they were able to execute easily,” said Racela. “And the key there was Raymar (Jose). Siya talaga ang pinakamagaling na basurero sa amin, pulot nang pulot, yan talaga ang trademark niya.”
Jose shared scoring honors with Mike Tolomia, shooting 11 markers aside from hauling down 13 rebounds, six of them off the offensive board.
“Ginagawa ko lang ang part ko. Ready lang ako palagi pag pinapasok ako, bigay ko lang yung best ko, kung ano’ng matutulong ko sa team,” said Jose.
Achie Inigo and Roger Pogoy contributed 10 apiece in a balanced scoring attack for FEU that saw Mac Belo limited to five markers.
“ I think this is the ideal stat-line for us – very balanced talaga kasi mahirap yung isa mag-score ng 26, 29, 25 tapos yung iba nagiging palamuti na lang dun. I think over the years that’s something we have developed. Dati ganun talaga kami, ngayon na-iinvolved na lahat. Like today, highest pointer was only 11 points, taking just nine shots,” said Racela.
Jett Manuel topscored with 16 for the Maroons, who absorbed their second straight loss for 2-2.
FEU 75 – Jose 11, Tolomia 11, Inigo 10, Pogoy 10, Orizu 8, Arong 7, Belo 5, Ru. Escoto 5, Tamsi 5, Ri. Escoto 2, Comboy 1, Dennison 0, Trinidad 0.
UP 58 – Manuel 16, Dario 10, Desiderio 9, Lim 8, Harris 3, Juruena 3, Longa 3, Asilum 2, Kone 2, Moralde 2, Amar 0, Gallarza 0, Jaboneta 0, Prado 0, Vito 0, Webb 0.
Quarterscores: 13-8, 28-29, 51-45, 75-58.