FEU’s muscle enough to overpower UE press
FEU cared not one bit about UE’s press. That’s not to say they didn’t turn the ball over. They did. In fact, they finished with 31 miscues, conceding 23 points to UE. But while other teams have all sorts of press-break schemes, FEU was content to just inbound and send the ball-handler zooming past the halfcourt line.
This wasn’t a perfect plan though. Some of the FEU turnovers could have been avoided simply by having the inbounds guy hang back, ready in case the ball-handler needed someone to pass to. In the first half of the game, a lot of the errors came not from the press, but after it was broken. Mike Tolomia would go streaking into the shaded lane, essentially initiating the Tams’ dribble-drive offense quickly. And when the defenders converged on him, he’d drop it off to one of his bigs under the basket, but either they weren’t ready for it, or they’d bobble the ball and lose it out of bounds.
FEU cleaned this up late, and were able to score easily off those plays. Tolomia was a cruise missile, with 13 points and six assists. Achi Inigo, though he looked for his own shot more, tallied seven points and four dimes.
With their next opponent being Ateneo, another team that likes to press (although the Blue Eagles usually try to trap the ball-handler past the halfcourt line), the Tams ought to be feeling confident.
Far Eastern U. also has to like the improved play from their big men. Mac Belo had a 9-of-12 performance, upping his field goal percentage this season to a whopping 64.44 percent. Undersized big man Carl Bryan Cruz hauled down 10 rebounds, and center Anthony Hargrove had his best game so far, 14 points and 12 rebounds. Thanks to their philosophy of emphasizing close-in shots, the Tams are shooting 49.18 percent from the field, with a league-leading 39.5 inside points per game. It’s certainly a reversal from last season, when they led the UAAP in perimeter points.
Read about this game from the UE perspective
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