University of the East unleashed a telling 22-0 run to deny Far Eastern University its first win, 65-58, in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, Saturday.
Senegalese big man Mo Faty made two free throws at the 1:39 mark of the third quarter for a 50-36 Tamaraws lead.
Then the Red Warriors scored 22 unanswered points, with Gjerard Wilson making 12 of those, to turn the game around and give his team a 58-50 advantage with 3:11 left in the game.
Faty then slammed an alley-oop off Patrick Sleat at the 2:52 mark for FEU’s first points since the Faty free throws in the third frame.
However, Nigerian center Precious Momowei and JM Tulabut produced the much-needed separation baskets for UE for the win.
“I would say the team followed the instructions… We held down FEU especially in the fourth, we scored 25 points to eight points of FEU. I’ll give this game to our second group because I think they did their job. We scored 30 bench points,” said UE head coach Jack Santiago.
The Red Warriors bounced back after losing to University of the Philippines, 69-84, for a 2-1 card tied with De La Salle University, National University, and Adamson University for second to fifth.
Wilson and Momowei were UE’s highest scorers with 15 points apiece. The foreign student-athlete also grabbed 17 rebounds and got three steals.
“It wasn’t just me. It was the whole team. We didn’t give up. Coach Jack and the whole staff we work hard every day at practice so we’re built for times like this. We stayed as a unit and we stepped to the system,” said Wilson.
UE looks to make it back-to-back wins on Wednesday when it collides with 1-2 Ateneo de Manila University.
Meanwhile, the Tamaraws joined University of Santo Tomas at the bottom of the standings at 0-3.
Ljay Gonzales had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals in the losing cause. Faty added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Jorick Bautista netted 11 points.
FEU will look for its first win against unbeaten University of the Philippines, also on Wednesday.
The Scores:
UE 65 – Wilson 15, Momowei 15, Remogat 8, Tulabut 7, Sawat 6, Cruz-Dumont 6, Lingolingo 5, Galang 3, Fikes 0, Alcantara 0, Langit 0.
FEU 58 – Gonzales 16, Faty 12, Bautista 11, Añonuevo 6, Torres 5, Tempra 4, Alforque 2, Sleat 2, Bagunu 0, Ona 0, Competente 0, Montemayor 0, Felipe 0.
Quarterscores: 16-20, 29-39, 40-50, 65-58
