They’ve just lost their one golden chance and now their own destiny is not on their hands.

The Far Eastern University Tamaraws lost control of their chances to secure the second twice-to-beat advantage for their semis trip after being defeated by neighboring University of the East Red Warriors yesterday, 61-73, at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws were hammered by the Warriors right from the start of the game. The squad was rendered scoreless for the first three minutes of the first quarter. Scoring has been a struggle for FEU as UE pushed them down by as much as 15 points after the starting canto.

The Morayta-based outfit tried to trim down the Warriors’ lead in the second quarter but failed. Their opponents’ pressure defense forced them to commit 14 turnovers, from which UE gained 12 points, by the end of the first half. Outside scoring was another story for the Tams. The squad only managed to trick in one out of nine from beyond the arc compared to the opposing teams six out of 20. FEU marched into their dug-outs with the biggest deficit after the first half, 24-36.

The Tams, courtesy of an Andy Barroca putback on a missed Mac Baracael lay-up, pushed an 8-0 run nearing the middle of the third quarter and chopped down the Warriors’ lead to seven at 39-46. However, the run wasn’t enough for the Green and Gold to capitalize on as they ended the third canto at 45-54, still nine points behind.

FEU had their chances to further trim down their opponents’ lead. However, the closest they could get was by six points. Reil Cervantes’ two-pointer at the one-minute mark was the Green shirts’ last basket, putting the score to 61-67. The Tamaraws collapsed as the last seconds ticked in and allowed the Warriors to put in five more points from their lousy ball handling.

Benedict Fernandez led the Tams with 16 points, while Cervantes and Aldrech Ramos finished off with 10 markers a piece.

With the loss, FEU dropped to third place with a win-loss card of 10-4. They have to hope for De La Salle to lose their match against top seed Ateneo tomorrow to be able to forge a playoff for the second twice-to-beat advantage.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES:
UE 73—Llagas 17, Martinez 16, Lee 10, Zamar 9, Reyes 8, Thiele 6, Arellano 5, Espiritu 2, Noble 0, Lingganay 0, Bandaying 0.
FEU 61—Fernandez 16, Cervantes 10, Ramos 10, Cawaling 7, Barroca 7, Baracael 5, Adolfo 4, Sanga 2, Alisbo 0, Knuttel 0.

Quarters: 23-8, 36-24, 54-45, 73-61

 

September 5th, 2008 by reichmakayan Rachell Makayan is a 2008 graduate of the FEU-IN. A former sports writer of The Advocate. The product of an Ilocana mother and a Bicolano father (but trust me she doesn't know how to speak both provinces' dialect). The only FEU alumnus in her family, she constantly finds herself fighting over her mom, dad and sister every time the Tams plays the Warriors (Of course, she wins most of the time).