19 October 2019
By Maxine Louise Lagman
ANTIPOLO – Far Eastern University wasted no time to outlast the De La Salle University, 81-60, on Saturday to clinch solo fourth in the team standings in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
With the win, FEU improved to a 6-6 win-loss record to take solo fourth from La Salle, which dropped to a 5-6 slate and out of the top four teams in the league standings.
“We needed this win badly,” said FEU head coach Olsen Racela post-game. “I was impressed with our offense today, our shooting. But I am more happy with the way we defended, holding them to 60.”
The Tamaraws were in command from the get-go, immediately overpowering La Salle with a 16-point advantage in the first quarter, 27-11. La Salle never managed to take down the lead to a single-digit as the buzzer went off with FEU leading by as much as 21 points.
FEU shot 54.1 percent and their strong defense limited La Salle to a poor 23-of-71 shooting, only 32 percent from the field.
“Our mentality really was to treat this game as do-or-die game. We have three games left. All of those games are actually do-or-die if we want to make it to the Final Four,” coach Racela added.
L-Jay Gonzales paced FEU with 14 points, seven assists, and two steals, while Ken Tuffin chipped in another 14 markers. Wendell Comboy added 12 points and seven boards in the win.
For the Green Archers, Justine Baltazar flirted with a double-double record of 16 points and nine boards in the losing effort.
The Scores:
FEU 81 – Gonzales 14, Tuffin 14, Comboy 12, Torres 11, Tchuente 8, Stockton 7, Ebona 6, Cani 5, Alforque 2, Tempra 2, Bayquin 0, Bienes 0, Dulatre 0, Mantua 0, Nunag 0.
LA SALLE 60 – Baltazar 16, Malonzo 13, Serrano 9, Melecio 7, Caracut 5, Manuel 3, Bartlett 2, Cu 2, Lim 2, Escandor 1, Bates 0, Hill 0, Lojera 0.
QUARTER SCORES: 27-11, 40-29, 57-42, 81-60.
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