MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern U steadied the ship in overtime to ground Adamson, 76-72, and pump some life to its Final Four hopes at the start of the UAAP Season 87 second round of action yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tamaraws squandered a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, recovered in time late in regulation to force extra period then hit the bigger shots down the stretch to escape with the big win for a 2-6 slate.
A rousing start it was for the Morayta-based dribblers in the second round, where teams jockey for playoff positions, compared to a winless campaign in the first five games of the first phase – with Jorick Bautista spearheading the way.
The grizzled guard drained the game-tying trey off a rebound scramble in the last 14.2 seconds of the regulation to force OT, where he went on to score nine of his 21 points to bring the Tamaraws home.
Bautista, who added six rebounds, two assists and two steals, then delivered the killer blow with two pressure-packed freebies in the last four seconds to repel Adamson’s feisty fightback led by Matthew Montebon.
If Bautista led FEU’s attack, Mo Konateh served as the Tamaraws’ immovable fortress down low with an enormous double-double of 13 points and 26 rebounds, plus two steals and four blocks.
Veejay Pre added 13 points, Royce Alforque had nine while Janrey Pasaol and Rojan Montemayor put in eight each.