MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University (FEU) extended its winning streak to six games with a wire-to-wire 59-48 demolition of University of Santo Tomas (UST) in a rematch of last season's Finals Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The defending champion Tamaraws improved their record to 7-2 to solidify their hold of second place in the standings of the UAAP Season 79 men's basketball tournament.
The Growling Tigers, meanwhile, lost for the fifth game in a row and are now at 2-7, the worst mark in the UAAP. The 48 points they scored against the Tamaraws also marked the lowest scoring output in the league this season.
The Tamaraws proceeded to take several double-digit leads in the second half, with Jojo Trinidad canning his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 41-31 at the 2:53 mark of the third period.
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Jeepy Faundo's hard work inside the paint helped UST cut into the deficit in the fourth period, and his lay-up off a pick-and-roll with Jon Sheriff made it a five-point game, 45-50, with still 2:51 left to play. But FEU was quick to respond, with Wendel Comboy blowing by the Tigers' defense to convert a lay-up.
Turnovers then derailed UST's comeback attempt, and an and-1 play by Richard Escoto off an unsportsmanlike foul by Marvin Lee pushed the lead back to double-digits, 56-45, with just 47 seconds to go.
Nevertheless, FEU coach Nash Racela was less than happy with his team's performance, noting that his players showed some signs of complacency against the Tigers.
"I think at this stage of the tournament, we should be concerned about our improvements as a team. My concern is us believing that we are already a good team because we've been winning," said Racela. "Baka magkaroon ng complacency on our part."
"We always remind the players and the team na ang mga games na ito is for us to work on the things na kailangan namin ayusin," he added. "Today wasn't really that nice."
Trinidad finished with 16 points for the Tamaraws, while Raymar Jose added nine points and 14 rebounds. Their hero for the past games, Monbert Arong, had only two points on 1-of-9 shooting, and sat out the fourth quarter.
"Today, Jojo is our go-to guy," Racela said afterward.
FEU converted 35.38% of their attempts and held UST to only 26.09% shooting. The Tigers made 10 field goals in the second half. But the Tamaraws also committed 22 turnovers, many of them unforced.
Louie Vigil had 18 points, while Lee added 12 markers. Faundo finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds for the Tigers.
FEU 59 - Trinidad 16, Jose 9, Comboy 8, Escoto 8, Holmqvist 6, Orizu 4, Bayquin 3, Dennison 3, Arong 2, Denila 0, Ebona 0, Roxas 0, Tuffin 0.
UST 48 - Vigil 18, Lee 12, Faundo 10, Afoakwah 2, Arana 2, Subido 2, Sheriff 2, De Guzman 0, Huang 0, Lao 0, Macasaet 0.
Quarterscores: 16-8, 31-23, 45-37, 59-48.
(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)
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