Tamaraws claim second spot, Archers one loss away from losing title

The Far Eastern University Tamaraws claimed the second spot in the UAAP rankings after a 65-60 win over the De La Salle University Greer Archers, Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

With the win, the Tamaraws now hold a twice-to-beat advantage against the Green Archers. FEU could claim a slot in the finals with another win on Saturday. They are now 3-0 against the Green Archers in the season.

FEU lost a 19-point fourth quarter lead in their last game. They showed that they learned from that mistake as they finished this game with a 7-0 kick.

After another sorry miss from inside for the Green Archers late in the fourth quarter, the Tamaraws broke away to find Carl Cruz wide open for a layup to give their side a 63-60 lead with only 22 seconds left in the game.

Needing a big basket, Almond Vosotros bricked a long three-point attempt, allowing the Tamaraws to go on the break once more. Jeron Teng fouled Mike Tolomia, which was deemed an unsportsmanlike foul as two other Tamaraws were in already ahead of him.

Free throws from Tolomia and Cruz sealed the win for FEU.

Tolomia bounced back from missing two game-winning free throws against Ateneo with a 19-point output against La Salle.

Jason Perkins led the Green Archers with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Almond Vosotros added 13 points, all in the third quarter. After battling a mild case of dengue fever, Jeron Teng only managed to get eight points and eight rebounds.

La Salle started the game by making long jumpers while Far Eastern University concentrated on scoring inside. The Tamaraws held a 15-12 lead after the first 10 minutes.

FEU went on a 12-2 run to start the second quarter for a 27-14 advantage. La Salle upped their energy on defense as they forced the Tamaraws to commit turnovers leading to fast break points. FEU still led 32-24 at the half.

The Tamaraws went on a 9-0 blast to build a 43-31 lead with 5:50 left in the third. Needing big shots to stay in the game, Julian Sargent and Almond Vosotros scored on back-to-back triples to cut their deficit in half.

Vosotros continues to shoot well from the floor as a four-point play and another triple knotted the score at 50-all with 48 seconds left in the third. Tolomia, however, ended the period with his own long triple for a 53-50 advantage heading into the final period.

The scoring slowed down considerably in the fourth quarter. Norbert Torres knotted the score at 58-all with 3:57 mark of the fourth as the Tamaraws found themselves in penalty early.

Arnold Van Opstal then grabbed the lead for the Archers as he score off a pretty spin move against Anthony Hargrove, 60-58. Tolomia forced another tie at the 2:12 mark as he scored off a drive against four green shirts.

A free throw from Tolomia swung the lead back to their side 61-60.

The Main Man: Tolomia was steady down the stretch for FEU. He tied the game after La Salle finally got a taste of the lead and he also sank a go-ahead free throw.

Honorable Mention: Belo played another solid game with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Game Turning Point: The Archers had so many opportunities to get the lead back. Teng, Perkins, Van Opstal, and Torres all missed shots close to the baskets in the final minutes of the game. A miss from Torres was particularly crucial as it led to the fast break layup for Cruz and a 63-60 deficit. The unsportsmanlike foul on Teng was the final nail in the coffin.

They Said It:

FEU head coach Nash Racela: It was really hard coming off that loss against Ateneo. Today we showed the character of our team. It wasn’t easy beating La Salle but our players really persevered.

Mike Tolomia: Natatawa ako kasi grabe yung pagsubok na binibigay sa akin. Pero thankful ako na binigyan ako ng opportunity na bawiin yung mali ko [against Ateneo]. Two years na La Salle yung nagtatanggal sa amin sa Final Four. Umpisa pa lang ng season, sila na yung pinaghahandaan ko.

The scores:

FEU 65: Tolomia 19, Belo 15, Cruz 7, Pogoy 7, Jose 6, Inigo 4, Hargrove 4, Dennison 3, Tamsi 0, Lee Yu 0, Escoto 0.

La Salle 60: Perkins 15, Vosotros 13, Teng 8, Torres 8, Van Opstal 7, Montalbo 6, Sargent 3, Torres 0, Rivero 0.

Quarters: 15-12, 32-24, 53-50, 65-60.