Far Eastern University–Diliman strengthened its hold on second place with a 90-66 rout of Adamson University in the UAAP Season 89 High School Boys’ 16-and-under Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With the coveted No. 2 seed within reach, the Baby Tamaraws improved to 10-3, moving a game ahead of third-running De La Salle Zobel after the penultimate game of the elimination round.
“Lumiit yung lamang, pagdating ng halftime kinausap ko sila nang maayos. Sabi ko sa kanya, kung ganyan ang basketball na lalaruin niyo, hindi tayo puwedeng pumasok sa playoffs,” said head coach Muriel Garcia. “Laruin natin ang basketball ng Tamaraws, maglaro kayo nang tama, dumepensa kayo nang tama.”
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
Trailing by as many as 17 points early in the second quarter, Adamson capitalized on FEU-D’s turnovers and attacked the basket to gradually chip away at the deficit.
With the Baby Tamaraws still ahead by 17, 42-25, at the 3:18 mark, Raymond Chan spearheaded a 13-2 closing run, capped by Kobe Edrada’s triple, to pull the Baby Falcons within six, 44-38, at halftime.
However, just as Adamson trimmed the deficit to four at the start of the second half, FEU-D responded by tightening its defense and shutting down Chan, holding the Baby Falcons’ top scorer scoreless for the remainder of the game.
From there, the Baby Tamaraws leaned on Griffin Barlan’s monster double-double to restore their double-digit advantage in the fourth quarter and cruise to a 24-point victory.
“Kukunin namin ‘tong momentum papunta po sa UE then Final Four, syempre. Binigay ko lang yung kayang gawin ko sa team, and nagtiwala lang ako,” said Barlan, who finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Nicus Calma led all scorers with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, while Dwayne Madrigal chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Andres Cruz added 11 points, while Hisham Mampao contributed 10.
FEU-D will face fellow Final Four-bound University of the East to close out the elimination round on November 17 at 1 p.m. at the DLSZ Sports Pavilion.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
Adamson, meanwhile, dropped to 3-10 ahead of its final game of the season against Ateneo de Manila University on November 17 at 9 a.m. at the same Alabang venue.
Chan paced the Baby Falcons with 13 points, all of which came in the first half, while Dwayne Cads chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Scores:
FEU–D 90 — Calma 19, Barlan 17, Madrigal 13, Cruz 11, Mampao 10, Alsola 8, Isip 3, Ira 3, Garcia 2, Manaloto 2, Salazar 2, Maginay 0, Vale 0, Samonte 0, Castro 0, Cortes 0.
AdU 66 — Chan 13, Cads 10, Edrada 8, Espiritu 6, Caintic 6, Timtiman 4, Gayatin 4, Maycong 4, Subido 4, Delos Santos 2, De. Sepnio 2, Dw. Sepnio 2, Thompson 1, Bulan 0.
Quarterscores: 27-17, 44-38, 63-53, 90-66.
