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| The Tamaraws were backstopped by senior swingman Roger Pogoy who had 15 markers, including three triples. Dennis Jerome Acosta/Dugout Philippines |
PASAY--When it mattered the most, the FEU Tamaraws finally overcame their tormentors, the UST Growling Tigers, 75-64 to move within a game of earning their 20th UAAP championship at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday night.
FEU started the game strong, playing physical against gritty UST. This proved effective as the Tigers were not able to find any rhythm, enabling the Tamaraws to erect a lead as high as 14 points during the first half.
After the halftime break, the Tigers, rising to their monicker of being the comeback kids of UAAP, started to turn the tide, possesion by possesion and shot by shot until they finally retook the lead 62-61.
However, the Tamaraws, coming off a timeout late in the fourth, displayed their championship caliber and completely shut out the Tigers through a 12-0 run to reclaim the lead 73-62, en rout to their victory over the Tigers.
The Tamaraws were backstopped by senior swingman Roger Pogoy who had 15 markers, including three triples. Fellow seniors Mark Belo and Mike Tolomia chipped in 13 and 14 points respectively.
The Tamaraws dominated the battle for the boards, completely outrebounding the Tigers 56-32, 22 of which were offensive rebounds. In addition, the Tamaraws were effective in clooging the shooting lanes and forcing the Tigers to taking ill-advised shots which equated to a poor shooting percentage of only 36%, while only converting two threes out of 19 that they took.
Karim Abdul and Kevin Ferrer were the lone bright spots among the Tigers, who sorely missed the contribution of the rest of their team, scoring 19 and 15 points respectively.
The win gives the Tamaraws the opportunity to close out the season and earn their 20th championship, their first since the era of Arwind Santos, on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Box Scores:
FEU 75-Pogoy 15, Tolomia 14, Belo 13, Ru. Escoto 12, Orizu 10, Tamsi 5, Jose 4, Arong 2, Dennison 0, Ri. Escoto 0, Inigo 0
UST 64-Abdul 19, Ferrer 15, Vigil 8, Bonleon 6, Sheriff 6, Lee 6, Daquioag 4, Lao 0, Faundo 0
Quarterscores: 28-24, 47-34, 57-51, 75-64
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