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MANILA, Philippines – It was not pretty by any means, but perennial contender FEU breathed new life to its UAAP Season 85 campaign with a much-needed two-game winning streak to end an unpredictable first round in the men’s basketball tournament.
Down in the doldrums with a 0-5 start for their worst in the Final Four era, the Tamaraws, who own the the UAAP’s longest active playoff streak (8 straight seasons) stayed locked in, and strung a couple of big wins with a 75-60 rout of UST, followed by a gritty 47-44 upset over former top-ranked team NU.
Leading the comeback in that stretch is Bryan Sajonia, who helped carry the Tamaraws’ languishing offense with 23 points on a perfect 9-of-9 clip inside the arc against the Growling Tigers and 12 points as the game’s lone double-digit scorer versus the Bulldogs.
His two-game averages of 17.5 points on 45% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in under 26 minutes of play proved to be enough to earn him the nod as the Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week presented by San Miguel Corporation and the Philippine Sports Commission.
The scrappy Sajonia leapfrogged a loaded cast of candidates featuring Adamson’s Jerom Lastimosa, Ateneo’s Dave Ildefonso, UP’s Carl Tamayo, and NU’s Steve Nash Enriquez for the weekly honor deliberated upon by print and online media regularly covering the league, and also backed by MNL Kingpin, Tinapayan Festival, and Jockey as minor sponsors.
“We’re happy that we got the first win. The FEU community supporting us has a big effect on that. We’re happy that we finally got our break for the next few games,” Sajonia said in Filipino.
“Coach Olsen [Racela] only told us to stay confident in our shots, trust one another, and not play for ourselves. Because of our losing streak, we really needed to be united as a team,” he continued.
As FEU revived its playoff drive in the nick of time at the tail-end of the first round, fans from Morayta for sure hope the worst is over as the Tamaraws (2-5) head into the second round in the thick of the race with only a game behind the Final Four picture. – Rappler.com
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