Another heartbreaker for UP as FEU squeaks through
Same old story for the University of the Philippines.
The Fighting Maroons once again put themselves in a fighting position anew, only to flounder again in the stretch, this time yielding a close 63-67 decision to Far Eastern University Thursday in the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball action at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Although already out of the Final Four contention and bound for an early vacation for the 15th straight year, the Fighting Maroons seemed headed to wield the upset axe against the heavily-favored Tamaraws but came up short in the crunch anew, falling to their sixth consecutive loss and 12th overall in 13 outings, a league-worst.
While UP crumbled under immense pressure, FEU banked on its vaunted defense, repeatedly foiling every Fighting Maroons’ offensive thrust in the last 2:23 while getting big buckets in the other end, to gain at least a playoff for a Final Four spot with their ninth win in 12 outings, good for second alongside idle University of Santo Tomas.
Roger Pogoy surprisingly led all scorers with 16 points, capped by two clutch freebies, on top of seven boards while Terrence Romeo bucked a horrendous 4-of-16 shooting to finish with 13 markers plus five boards, three assists and two steals for the Tamaraws.
And FEU coach Bert Flores could only heave a sigh of relief, saying: “Close fight talaga kami lagi against UP. Na-control namin ‘yung boards (46-27) and naka-fast break kami.”
A floater by Raul Soyud over Anthony Hargrove put UP ahead for the final time at 63-62 with 2:24 left before FEU unleashed a telling five-to-nothing windup.
Hargrove turned a missed attempt by RR Garcia into a twinner before¬ Pogoy sank two free throws for a 66-63 cushion with 1:03 remaining.
Despite missing two point-blank attempts, the Fighting Maroons got another break after the Tamaraws turned the ball over with 25.1 seconds left, with UP coach Ricky Dandan immediately suing for time.
Mike Silungan, who led UP with 12 markers, threw a three-point attempt that was well-contested and Jet Manuel threw another potentially-tying attempt, only to misfire and foul Garcia in the process with 1.1 ticks left.
Garcia put the result beyond doubt by sinking the tail-end of his two free throws.
Despite the win, Flores insisted there’s no time to celebrate yet, saying: “Dikit-dikit pa ‘yung last two games. Hindi pa talaga sigurado sa semis dahil labo-labo pa. Ang pinaka-importante ‘yung Sunday (against La Salle). ‘Pag nanalo dun number four na.”
Coming off an 83-78 win over University of the East last Saturday, the Tamaraws also welcomed back rugged center Arvie Bringas back to their fold. The 6-foot-5 Bringas scattered three points and as many assists in 10 minutes of play but also incurred an unsportsmanlike foul, throwing his elbow on UP’s Diony Hipolito at the 7:36 mark in the fourth in an act that had even his own coach remark, jokingly, that he might be better off in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
FEU also scrambled past UP in their first-round meeting last Aug. 5 with a nervy 73-70 win.
