Noy Remogat’s season-high outing did not go in vain, leading University of the East to an 87-86 overtime victory over Far Eastern University to remain in the thick of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Final Four race on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Remogat finished with 34 points, re-writing his own season-best outing of 27 points which he dropped last October 15 in a 56-72 loss to Adamson.
The 20-year-old Caviteño guard also became the first Red Warrior to score 30-plus points in a game.
The last was Alvin Pasaol, who scored 32 in a 66-80 loss to University of Santo Tomas on October 6, 2018 back in Season 81.
More importantly for the sophomore guard, he was glad to carry the season hosts to a 4-6 record, tying Ateneo at fifth and just a game behind fourth-running Adamson.
“Sobrang blessed kami, yung team namin, na nagawa namin yung dapat ipagawa ni Coach Jack (Santiago) at yung coaching staff,” said Remogat, who also tallied eight assists, six rebounds, and three steals in the win.
“Sobrang natutuwa lang kami na, yun nga, buhay pa kami sa pwede pa makapasok sa Final Four. Siguro yung panalo namin last game and this game, makakatulong sa amin maipanalo yung susunod na games,” he added.
With the game knotted at 77-all with 2:55 remaining, Remogat connived with Allen Maglupay, Precious Momowei, Jack Cruz-Dumont, and Wello Lingolingo.
They all zoned in on both ends, giving UE an unassailable 87-77 cushion with 38.7 seconds to go in added time.
That let them ice the contest and notch their first winning streak for the season.
“Hindi naman tayo perpekto but at least the players are not giving up,” said third-year Red Warriors head coach Santiago. “They didn’t give up. Just imagine, they scored 14 (points) in the overtime, we scored 15 (points), but yung nine points na yun coming off sa last 45 seconds.
“Just imagine, we held them down 4:15 ng na-score lang nila mga five points lang sila.”
The Red Warriors lacked the killer instinct to seal the win in regulation.
Remogat converted a three-point shot to give UE a 72-69 edge with 1:33 to go but Abdul Sawat’s miss gave FEU the opening it needed to force added time.
Xyrus Torres then nailed a three to tie the game at 72-72. Then he and Remogat missed what would have been game-winners soon after.
UE also previously prevailed against FEU in the first round, 65-58.
Sawat followed Remogat’s lead with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Meanwhile, Nigerian center Precious Momowei seized 15 rebounds to go along with his five points and two blocks.
The Red Warriors will go up against University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons this Wednesday at 1:00 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
On the other hand, the Tamaraws, who sported their alternate dark jerseys by Puma for the first time this season, fell to seventh place with a 3-7 record.
Bautista led FEU with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals while L-Jay Gonzales contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Xyrus Torres and Patrick Sleat scored 12 and 11 points respectively for the Tamaraws.
Cholo Anonuevo marked his return after missing the last six games for FEU with 10 points, seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists. This was his first time back in action for the Tamaraws since their October 7 loss to the Red Warriors.
FEU will look to snap its two-game slide against National University also on Wednesday at 4:00 PM.
The Scores:
UE (87) – Remogat 34, Sawat 20, Cruz-Dumont 9, Gilbuena 7, Lingolingo 6, Momowei 5, Tulabut 2, Maglupay 2, Langit 2, Cabero 0, Galang 0.
FEU (86) – Bautista 21, Gonzales 18, Torres 12, Sleat 11, Añonuevo 10, Faty 8, Tempra 4, Ona 2, Bagunu 0, Montemayor 0, Felipe 0.
Quarterscores: 18-14, 32-36, 54-56, 72-72, 87-86
