By Jun Ray Navarres
Far Eastern University failed to secure their first win in UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball owing to the 22-0 run of University of the East, Saturday Night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Struggling FEU Tamaraws saw a glimmer of hope in a 50-36 lead at the third period of the game, but UE revolted with 22 unanswered points to turn the tables in their favor, 58-50 with only 3:11 left in the game.
Gjerard Wilson fueled the uprising of the Red Warriors, contributing 12 points (15 total) in the run.
Jorick Bautista gave the Tamaraws a fighting chance with two threes at the stretch to chip the lead down to 4, 58-62 however JM Tulabut managed to produce the separation needed off of Wilson’s pass for an and-one play.
“I would say the team followed the instructions. We held down FEU especially in the fourth, we scored 29 points to eight points of FEU. I’ll give this game to our second group because I think they did their job. We scored 30 bench points,” said UE Head Coach Jack Santiago.
Precious Momowei continued to support the Red Warriors in another double-double night of 15 points and 17 rebounds in addition to three steals.
Tamaraw LJ Gonzales tallied 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals in a losing effort. Mo Faty contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, De La Salle University handed University of Santo Tomas its third straight loss in the same tournament in a one-sided game, 91-71.
Still having problems finding their rhythm, UST bitterly accepted a blow-out loss to the Green Archers.
The balanced distribution of the ball worked wonders for DLSU as noticed in their 24 assists compared to UST’s 10.
Evan Nelle, who was having a hard time from the field in their game against Ateneo de Manila University sparked the early offense of La Salle, making two shots from beyond the arc.
Kevin Quiambao continued his hot shooting from three-point line for a total of 14 points alongside Joshua David.
Nic Cabañero pulled the Growling Tigers together with 25 points, five rebounds, and two assists, but the one-man game of Cabañero was insufficient to the team play of DLSU. Adama Faye tried running down the court but was immediately subbed out after continuous struggling.
La Salle will look to break away from the four-way tie with Adamson University (UE and National University) and score a back-to-back win on Wednesday at the MOA Arena. UE will be meeting with defending champion Ateneo de Manila University on the same day.
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