Far Eastern University-Diliman relied on a balanced attack to top University of the Philippines Integrated School, 93-75, and claim solo second place in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Thursday afternoon at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
Marc Burgos led the Baby Tamaraws with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding four rebounds and two assists, while Gilas Boys standout Prince Cariño contributed 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting with two rebounds and one assist off the bench as FEU-D cruised to their third win in four outings.
In a separate thriller, 16-year-old center Kieff Iledan shone down the stretch, sinking two consecutive layups — including the game-winner — to lift Adamson University to a stunning 68-67 win over University of the East.
FEU-D, last season’s third-place finishers, improved to 3-1, staying within striking distance of unbeaten Ateneo (4-0). Adamson joined National University Nazareth School, De La Salle Zobel, and UE in a four-way tie at 2-2.
“This is the start of the teamwork I want to see from them. Sinasabi ko nga doon sa huddle, we have to start somewhere. We started playing more of a team with offense, though questionable pa yung defense,” Baby Tamaraws head coach Mike Reyes said.
Building on a 50-40 halftime lead, FEU-D extended their advantage with two triples from Duke Santos and Sam Hall, a Mark Dullin alley-oop conversion, and a Carino free throw to put UPIS down 76-59 heading into the final period.
The Baby Tamaraws sealed the win with a five-point run by Dwyne Enriquez and consecutive inside scores from Jastien Dagcutan, stretching the lead to 90-68 with 4:11 remaining.
FEU-D shot efficiently at 39-of-77 (50.6%), dominated the boards 46-30, and dished out 28 assists. Pat Sohm added 10 points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal, while Season 87 Elite Team member Cabs Cabonilas posted eight points, seven assists, four steals, two blocks, and one rebound.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the Adamson-UE clash, two free throws by Bill Garcia and Jarl Artango briefly gave the Baby Falcons a 60-56 lead with 4:13 remaining, but the Junior Warriors responded with an 11-4 run, capped by a layup from Jolo Pascual and a three-pointer from Ethan Aguas, taking a 67-64 lead with 36.9 seconds left.
Adamson, however, refused to fold.
Iledan converted a eurostep layup and then helped force a key turnover by UE’s Sizco Roquid with 13.4 seconds remaining.
The 6-foot-3 forward from Aklan then calmly sank the go-ahead layup, securing the Baby Falcons’ second win.
“Tingin ko, [Iledan] learned his lesson from the NUNS game — the ball was in his hands nung last play namin, he missed a layup point blank. This time, he just made sure siguro, siya na nga mismo nagsabi, na hindi na mauulit ‘yan. Hats off to him and hats off to the players, they were up to the challenge kanina sa UE kasi kailangan namin ng panalo,” Adamson head coach Mike Fermin said.
Artango paced Adamson with 14 points, six rebounds, four steals, and three assists, while Mac Jenodia added 12 points and four rebounds.
Garcia nearly tallied a double-double with 12 points, eight boards, and five blocks, while Iledan finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For UE, Aguas led the Junior Warriors with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block, followed by Jamal Diaz with 12 points, four steals, one rebound, and one assist.
Pascual added 10 points, one assist, and one block, while Roquid struggled with two points on 1-of-9 shooting and five turnovers but contributed six rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For UPIS, Bruce Tubongbanua led with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Jhustin Hallare added 22 points, four assists, three rebounds, and one steal.
Zandro Lugatiman scored 13 points with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and Kean Poquiz contributed a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists, along with four rebounds and three steals.
The Scores:
Third Game:
FEU-D (93) – Burgos 16, Carino 13, Sohm 10, Cabonilas 8, Hall 7, Godoy 6, D. Santos 6, Gaye 6, Enriquez 5, Esperanza 4, Dulin 4, Dagcutan 4, J. Santos 2, Alagaban 2, Raneses 0.
UPIS (75) – Tubongbanua 25, Hallare 22, Lugatiman 13, Poquiz 12, M. Rosete 3, Pascual 0, Hernandez 0, Labao 0, Addatu 0, Ryan 0, J. Rosete 0, Manguerra 0, Cobico 0.
Quarterscores: 16-18, 50-40, 76-59, 93-75.
Fourth Game:
AdU (68) – Artango 14, Jenodia 12, Garcia 12, Iledan 10, Gomez 9, Saygo 5, Bautista 4, Flores 2, Frogoso 0, Fongtong 0, Babad 0.
UE (67) – Aguas 13, Diaz 12, Pascual 10, Braga 6, Timbol 5, Lorenzo 4, Edoukou 4, Delos Reyes 4, Orca 3, Abellar 3, Roquid 2, Bual 1.
Quarterscores: 13-15, 34-31, 48-49, 68-67.
