MANILA, Philippines – The FEU youth movement continues to defy modest expectations in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament as the vaunted Tamaraws program again flirts with a Final Four run off a 59-51 clamping of reeling UE at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Sunday, November 3.
With the win, FEU returned to the thick of the race for the latter two seeds with a 4-7 record, tied with Adamson at fifth and just behind lagging UST (5-6). UE, meanwhile, fell to its second straight loss for a 6-5 slate, albeit still in third place, after a forgettable 37-45 defeat to the Falcons last game.
Super rookie VJ Pre, fresh off a 31-point, 14-rebound explosion in a 70-79 loss to UST, poured in 20 more points and 8 boards against the Red Warriors, while no-fear gunner Jorick Bautista scattered 12 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.
Royce Alforque and Janrey Pasaol added 9 and 7 points respectively, with the latter draining a booming three at the 4:14 mark of the second quarter to mount a game-high 18-point separation, 31-13, coming off a surprising 23-9 first-frame start.
Though UE got its groove back in the second half, getting within 10 multiple times before finally breaking inside single digits, 43-52, off a Rainer Maga mid-range jumper with 4:50 to play, FEU’s momentum was just too far ahead to overcome as it eventually hung on for the win.
The Red Warriors only got as near as 7, 49-56, off a Wello Lingolingo putback at the 1:07 mark of the fourth, before a flurry of hurried jumpers and layups from the likes of Maga and Ethan Galang clanked off in the Tamaraws’ favor ahead of the final buzzer.
“I expect this to be our true breakout game. We [said we] will be solid from start to finish and that’s what we were. It’s my job to hold them accountable, and not let them go the soft route, the easy route,” said FEU head coach Sean Chambers.
Marathon man Precious Momowei completed his second full 40-minute game of the season and churned out a massive 18-point, 21-rebound double-double on 8-of-18 shooting, but only 1-of-4 from the line, including a crucial missed pair with 2:11 left in regulation.
Maga likewise stood tall with 12 points and an impressive 11 boards, but it all went for naught as John Abate, Lingolingo, and Galang combined for a putrid 5-of-27 clip from the field for just 12 points total.
As a side effect of UE’s loss, idle top-ranked La Salle (10-1) formally clinched one of two coveted twice-to-beat berths, with a chance for No. 2 UP (9-1) to follow suit should it defeat reeling NU (2-8) at the 3:30 pm game immediately following the FEU-UE clash.
FEU 59 – Pre 20, Bautista 12, Alforque 9, Pasaol 7, Anonuevo 5, Konateh 3, Daa 3, Montemayor 0, Ona 0, Nakai 0.
UE 51 – Momowei 18, Maga 12, Abate 7, Lingolingo 5, J. Cruz-Dumont 4, Fikes 3, Mulingtapang 2, Galang 0, Wilson 0, H. Cruz-Dumont 0.
Quarters: 23-9, 34-20, 47-34, 59-51.
– Rappler.com
