TAMARAWS BOUNCE BACK, HAND TIGERS ITS FOURTH STRAIGHT LOSS
By Maxine Louise Lagman
23 September 2017
The Far Eastern University stunned the University of Santo Tomas after rallying late in the second half to claim a 78-65 win on Saturday in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws sparked a 14-0 run in the final frame following back-to-back triples from Arvin Tolentino, while Jasper Parker shot another trey to extend their lead by 17 points, 72-55, crashing the Growling Tigers’ hope to end its bleeding.
“It was a good win for us. Yung first half namin medyo flat,” said first year Coach Olsen Racela. “Ang sabi ko sa kanila, they need to come out with intensity, energy and effort. Kaya nung second half, yun ang nangyari.”
Racela noted the absence of key player Prince Orizu in the first half, that led UST by as much as 10 points, 22-12. Both Orizu and Ron Dennison had a mild case of flu during the game.
The team’s effort limited UST to a 33.3 percent shooting from the field and its 24 turnovers led to 30 FEU points. Also, Tamaraws’ 29 points in the fourth quarter also matched with the Tigers’ whole second half output.
Despite a hot start, UST did not pull it off until the end-game as they are handed another loss in the season and kept them at the bottom of the team standings with a 0-4 slate, while they helped FEU climb the ladder and improve to a 2-2 card.
Tolentino paced the Tamaraws with a double-double 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Dennison added another 15 points for the win.
Meanwhile, Jeepy Faundo led UST with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat.
