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| Anthony Hargrove outplayed Karim Abdul as the FEU Tamaraws drubbed the UST Growling Tigers. |
FEU TAMARAWS over UST GROWLING TIGERS, 87-60
After most of their wins in the first round, Coach Pido Jarencio would often be quoted as saying, “Naka-tsamba nanaman” (we lucked out again). Most would laugh at his amusing candor and simply commend him for his humility.
In this game, however, there wasn’t a lot of room for amusing candor. There was a lot of room, though, for humility in the form of humble pie.
In this game, instead of having loads of luck, Coach Pido’s boys ran out of it. In this game, instead of seeing the Tigers glow amidst winning over the only team that inflicted defeat on them in the first round, we saw them burnt amidst a scorching shooting display by the undervalued FEU Tamaraws.
Not just burnt, actually. The Tigers were fried. Deep fried. To a crisp.
That’s how bad, how one-sided, how unexpectedly uneven, this match was.
FEU built a 17-point lead after the first quarter and extended it to 28 at the half. The Tams outrebounded the Tigers. They almost doubled up on UST’s assists. The most jarring numbers, however, were in the field goal department. FEU shot a blistering 69% from the field at this point, while the Tigers converted just 7 of their 35 attempts for a paltry 20%.
The España crew, despite being the undisputed comeback kids of Season 75 so far, never recovered. In terms of stats, they did play toe-to-toe with FEU in the last two periods, but, as the final spread shows, that was hardly enough to overhaul such a huge deficit.
Needless to say, this was an awesome way for FEU to bounce back after losing a double-digit lead to Ateneo last weekend. This was the perfect way to begin the second round. This was a great way to prove beyond any doubt how “for real” they are. And, man, are they for real. Anytime Terrence Romeo has more makes than misses, FEU’s foes are surely in trouble. Anytime Roger Pogoy grabs 11 rebounds, FEU’s foes are surely in trouble. Anytime Anthony Hargrove shoots a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor, FEU’s foes are surely in trouble. And anytime RR Garcia dishes out 11 assists, FEU’s foes are definitely in hell.
This was, this IS, a statement game for Coach Bert Flores. For the Morayta quintet, it’s not a matter of luck, but a matter of pride. It’s about proving something. It’s about playing beyond themselves.
And the rest of the field better watch out, unless, like the Tigers, they, too, get deep fried.
Note: Things couldn’t have been much worse for the return of Jeric Teng. Teng produced just 1 assist and shot 0-for-8 from the field in 15 minutes of action after suffering an MCL tear. The Tigers are still up there in the standings, but this could signal a tough gauntlet of games ahead.
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| Jeric Fortuna and the Tigers couldn't recover after falling behind early against FEU. |
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| Terrence Romeo and Roger Pogoy didn't miss many shots as FEU repeated over UST. |
Scores:
FEU 87 – Romeo 19, Pogoy 13, Hargrove 13, Bringas A 10, Bringas M 8, Tolomia 7, Garcia 5, Sentcheu 4, Mendoza 4, Belo 2, Cruz 2, Inigo 0, Jose 0, Guerrero 0
UST 60 – Mariano 15, Fortuna 12, Abdul 11, Bautista 8, Vigil 4, Ferrer 4, Teng 2, Pe 2, Dquioag 2, Lo 0, Haingan 0, Garrido 0, Afuang 0
Quarter Scores: 26-9, 47-19, 66-40, 87-60
Notable Performers:
Roger Pogoy (FEU) – 13pts, 11rebs, 1ast, 1stl
Terrence Romeo (FEU) – 19pts, 5rebs, 2asts, 1stl
Aljon Mariano (UST) – 15pts, 7rebs, 3asts, 1stl
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