Streak goes on as FEU trumps UST

Myke Miravite

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

FEU continued its raging streak after dispatching UST in UAAP Season 76.

CLUTCH. Romeo came through in the clutch anew. Photo by Rappler/Josh Albelda.

MANILA, Philippines – And the streak continues.

Enjoying their best start in years, Far Eastern University served strong notice of a Final Four return after dispatching University of Santo Tomas, 77-67 and cruise to their 6th straight win in the 76th UAAP men’s basketball tournament on Sunday, July 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Tamaraws’ guard combo of Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia teamed up to torture the Growling Tigers’ defense, scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively to lead FEU over last season’s finalists.

“6-0 has the same feeling of 1-0. Those are just numbers and it doesn’t guarantee anything,” FEU head coach Nash Racela said. “What’s important is to sustain the momentum. The biggest question for us will be consistency.”

After engaging the Tamaraws in an intense see-saw battle in the first 3 quarters, UST missed on the chance to be the first to blemish FEU’s slate as they tired out in the final period, just as the Morayta-based squad started sizzling from practically everywhere in the court.

Early paint dominance

Kevin Ferrer and Karim Abdul kick-started the Espana-based squad’s game as they dominated the paint early on, accounting for 20 of UST’s 37 points at halftime, but FEU managed to answer back with their outside sniping, spearheaded by Garcia who scored 12 in the second canto.

Both teams then went on to swap point after point after the break as Abdul continued to make his presence felt under the basket, pouring in 8 of his 21 points in the third on top of 11 boards.

But UAAP scoring leader Romeo — coming off the bench in this game – showed why he is one of the top MVP contenders this season by making crucial shots down the stretch.

Empty bench

UST then succumbed to fatigue in the final frame after their bench failed to provide ample support scoring just two against FEU’s 26 while also making only 15 of 24 from the free-throw stripe.

With the Tigers missing basket after basket in the homestretch, Mike Tolomia and Garcia starred in a 9-2 searing run to finally pull away from UST and secure the hard-fought win.

Mark Belo put in one of his best numbers this year as he almost went double-double, finishing with 14 points and 9 boards while Tolomia poured in 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists for the Tamaraws.

Ferrer meanwhile turned in 18 points and 7 boards to back-up Abdul as Clark Bautista and Mariano also broke double-digit scoring with 14 and 10.

UST, however, only had 4 points from their other players with Kim Lo and Ed Daquioag limited to just two points apiece. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!