Tamaraws drub Tigers, zoom to 6-0
Far Eastern University is fast turning the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball field into a one-team show.
Banking on a big second-half showing, the Tamaraws pulled away from the University of Santo Tomas to notch a 77-67 win Sunday night at the MOA Arena, their sixth straight win against no defeats.
Terrence Romeo came off the bench this time but still fired a team-high 19 points, 12 of those in the final 20 minutes, while four other teammates added at least 12 markers for FEU.
Cameroonian import Karim Abdul finished with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds but the Tigers came up short in the stretch, absorbing their second loss against three wins to fall into a tie alongside host Adamson.
The Main Man: Even though he came off the bench, the 5-foot-11 Romeo continued to do what he does best.
After taking a backseat in the first half, the irrepressible guard dazzled his UST defenders in the third canto, canning 10 of the team’s 23 points that enabled FEU to seize control for good.
Honorable Mention: Mike Tolomia is clearly a perfect complement for the offensive-minded Romeo and RR Garcia.
Letting his game do more of the talking, the third-year wingman had a solid outing of 12 points, a team-high seven assists and as many rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
Aside from those impressive numbers, Tolomia has also made a commendable job hounding UST’s Kevin Ferrer, who was held only two points in the fourth period when FEU pulled away.
Game Turning Point: With Romeo getting his usual shooting touch, the Tamaraws started to quicken up the pace in the third where they outscored UST by 23-19 to gain a six-point cushion going to the final 10 minutes.
Garcia and Tolomia then teamed up in sparking the Tamaraws’ jarring 12-5 charge to post a considerable 74-61 cushion going to the last 4:36 of play.
The Growling Tigers failed to muster any big run in the fourth, no thanks to the fatigue that somehow took its toll on Abdul and Co.
He Said It:
FEU coach Nash Racela: “Six-zero is the same feeling with one-zero. It is something that I learned as a coach. Six-zero doesn’t guarantee anything. Those are just numbers. I think it (teamwork) is getting better.”
The scores:
FEU (77) – Romeo 19, Garcia 17, Belo 14, Tolomia 12, Mendoza 6, Pogoy 5, Hargrove 2, Jose 1, Cruz 1, Sentcheu 0.
UST (67) – Abdul 21, Ferrer 18, Bautista 14, Mariano 10, Lo 2, Daquioag 2, So 0, Pe 0, Lao 0.
Quarterscores: 18-21, 39-37, 62-56, 77-67.
