Coming off an embarrassing 65-90 rout at the hands of the UE Red Warriors last Sunday, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws did just enough to bounce back, holding off the National University Bulldogs, 73-68, Wednesday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With the win, the Tamaraws lift their record to 3-2 — good for a tie for third place. Moreover, they sent the Bulldogs crashing to their fourth straight loss.
But there is no point to celebrate this victory for second-year Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela as he is demanding consistency from his squad.
“Of course, you’re always happy with a bounce back victory. Our problem is after namin mag-respond, may history e,” rued Racela. “We won the first one, we lost the second one. We bounced back, then lost another one. We have to be consistent with our approach.”
Not wanting to break the trend and lose their second straight game, it was Ino Comboy who stepped up on both ends.
“Siya yung magsasabi sa akin na more than the shots, defense. He took on the responsibility of being our main defender,” beamed Racela. “Of course, eleven points si Dave [Ildefonso] but the way he defended the guards of NU was good.”
With FEU holding on to just a three-point lead with 4:42 late, Comboy scored five points in a 10-5 blast to gain a 71-63 lead with 1:07 left.
Comboy had 18 points in the contest while forcing Ildefonso to shoot just 4-for-11 from the field.
The troika of Arvin Tolentino, Kenneth Tuffin, and L-Jay Gonzales had nine points each as well.
The Bulldogs, who have yet to win since opening day, were led by John Lloyd Clemente with 15 points. However, Issa Gaye only had two points and three rebounds as Prince Orizu dominated their match-up with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Both squads will play their penultimate games of the round on Sunday, October 7. FEU takes on the Adamson Soaring Falcons while NU faces the UP Fighting Maroons.
The Scores:
FEU 73 – Comboy 18, Tuffin 9, Tolentino 9, Gonzales 9, Orizu 8, Escoto 8, Ebona 6, Parker 4, Cani 2, Stockton 0, Inigo 0
NU 68 – Clemente 15, Ildefonso D 11, Aquino 11, Joson 7, Diputado 6, Yu 6, Ildefonso S 5, Gallego 3, Gaye 2, Morido 2, Rike 0, TIbayan 0, Malonzo 0
Quarterscores: 20-24, 37-37, 54-49, 73-68
