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| Defending Champions FEU needed a defensive masterclass from sophomore Prince Orizu to thwart their upset-conscious counterparts on the other side of Diliman |
By Ricky
Manliguis
QUEZON CITY—When
Prince Orizu says, “Not in my house,” he means it.
Orizu
thwarted two potential game-tying chances by University of the Philippines as
FEU escapes with an ugly 51-49 squeaker in the UAAP Season LXXIX men’s
basketball competitions at the Big Dome Sunday.
With the
game tied, 47-all, Orizu pulled off a chasedown block on Jarrell Lim on a
fastbreak attempt with 55.3 seconds remaining.
He then followed
suit by denying Paul Desiderio’s potential game-tying jumper in the dying seconds to survive the
Maroons’ upset ambitions and give the reigning champs its third victory against
two setbacks.
Monbert
Arong led the Morayta-based Tamaraws with 14 points, but none bigger than his tough
turn-around J with 14.6 ticks to go for a three-point cushion, 50-47.
Joe Trinidad
and Ken Holmqvist both had seven markers, while Raymar Jose and come-backing
Wendell Comboy issued six apiece.
Orizu,
despite only scoring a solitary point, had 15 rebounds and four blocks.
In the lowest scoring game so far this season, FEU shot just 20-of-65 for a 31 percent clip from the
field, while UP was even worse at 15-for-68 FGs (22 percent).
UP also
missed 13 of its 28 attempts from the foul line, compared to just seven on 13
attempts for the Tamaraws.
Paul Desiderio
led UP, now dropping at 1-4, with 15 points, while Christian Moralde chipped in
13.
The Scores:
FEU 51—Arong
14, Trinidad 7, Holmqvist 7, Jose 6, Comboy 6, Nunag 4, Dennison 2, Bienes 2,
Ebona 2, Orizu 1, Iñigo 0, Bayquin 0, Tuffin 0, Denila 0.
UP 49—Desiderio
15, Moralde 13, Manuel 8, Dario 6, Gomez De Liano 3, Espanola 2, Prado 2,
Harris 0, Webb 0, Lim, Vito, Asilum, Jaboneta, Lao, Romero 0.
Quarterscores:
4-5; 20-15; 38-30; 51-49.
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