Far Eastern University-Diliman secured a spot in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 88 Junior High School Basketball Tournament with a wire-to-wire 100-79 victory over De La Salle Zobel on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Dwyne Enriquez delivered his best performance yet as a Baby Tamaraw, finishing with 34 points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals to lead FEU-D toward a 9-3 record in third place, keeping its hopes alive for a twice-to-beat advantage.
Later, Adamson University — now 7-5 and in fourth place and a half-game lead over idle University of the East — stayed alive in the Final Four race with a 76-41 rout of the University of the Philippines Integrated School.
The Baby Tamaraws, who led by as much as 70-49 off Enriquez’s jumper with 4:32 left in the third quarter, briefly let up, allowing the Junior Archers to creep back into the game.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Lorenzo Purugganan, Isaac Purugganan, John Mindanao, and Jose Asis combined for a 12-0 run to cut the deficit to 70-61.
However, Enriquez, Griffin Barlan, and Prince Cariño quickly responded, giving FEU-D a comfortable 78-62 cushion heading into the final period.
The margin proved insurmountable, as FEU-D extended its lead to its biggest of the game, 98-73, on Cariño’s jumper with 2:19 remaining and coasted to the final buzzer.
“We need to get this game and the other two remaining games,” said Baby Tamaraws coach Muriel Garcia. “We need to climb up. Yung last two games namin, big games yun. Actually, pag nagkaroon ng step-ladder, wala ng advantage. Unfortunately, hindi namin nakuha yung NUNS.
“Muntik na kaya lang talagang ganun pero nag-move forward na kami dun. Ito nga, inaasikaso namin ang La Salle, UE at UST,” the long-time FEU staff member added.
Cariño posted a double-double for FEU-D with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Andrei Chavez and Prince Pineda added 16 and 13 points, respectively.
This marked FEU-D’s second win over La Salle this season, having also prevailed 80-65 in their first-round meeting last October 1.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
A similar story unfolded between Adamson and UPIS.
The Baby Falcons led 34-19 at halftime and extended their advantage to 61-31 with 3:20 left in the third quarter, thanks to key contributions from Inigo Andrade, Keefy Iledan, Edison Jordan, Uno Del Monte, Vengcs Vengco, and Seb Esma.
Alison Jordan, Del Monte, Edison Jordan, and Iledan finished strong to push Adamson’s lead to its largest at 74-38 with 5:02 left.
“As we said from the very start, this year we’re really targeting to get to the Final Four,” said Adamson coach Dante Tongco. “Di ka naman lagi mananalo, and there are teams that you really have to prepare for and even if you do, medyo nadali kami sa huling games namin.
“Right now, since we got the win, we’re 7-5 in fourth place, we’re eyeing that fourth place at minimum as of now. As I’ve said, we’ll always take it one game at a time. The next game will be La Salle, and we’ll prepare for that,” he added.
Iledan led the Baby Falcons with a double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds, while Del Monte added 13 points and Jordan contributed 12.
In the first round, Adamson also defeated UPIS 85-50 on September 24.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The Fighting Maroons now sit at 1-11 with an average losing margin of 51.2 points.
For UPIS, Matt Rosete was the only player in double digits, recording 10 points, nine rebounds, and two steals.
Isaac Purugganan led La Salle with 19 points and six assists, followed by Lorenzo Purugganan with 17 points. Julian Pangan also stood out with a double-double of 16 points, 17 rebounds, and four steals.
The Scores
First Game
FEU-D (100) – Enriquez 34, Cariño 19, Chavez 16, Pineda 13, Cañete 6, Barlan 4, Cruz 3, Daa 3, Manaloto 2, Mojica 0, Mampao 0, Calma 0, Isip 0, Maghinay 0, Madrigal 0, Desiderio 0.
DLSZ (79) – I. Purugganan 19, E. Purugganan 17, Pangan 16, Mindanao 8, Dizon 8, Asis 6, Riguera 3, Sy 2, Quillo 0, Solis 0, Dumana 0, Delos Reyes 0, De Lara 0.
Quarterscores: 30-18, 49-36, 78-62, 100-79.
Second Game
AdU (76) – Iledan 18, Del Monte 13, E. Jordan 12, Esma 7, Padrejuan 7, Caintic 5, Vengco 4, A. Jordan 3, Adrade 3, Abas 2, Vargas 2, Maycong 0, Mangahas 0.
UPIS (41) – Rosete 10, Addatu 9, Poquiz 8, Lugatiman 6, Labao 5, Okebata 2, Sebastian 1, Baldovino 0, Manguerra 0, Cezar 0, Bautista 0, Floirendo 0, David 0.
Quarterscores: 17-8, 34-19, 61-33, 76-41.
