Far Eastern University-Diliman leaned on a career-high performance from MVP frontrunner Cabs Cabonilas to eliminate University of the East from Final Four contention in the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball Tournament with a 66-62 victory, Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Despite the Adamson Baby Falcons suffering a 62-48 defeat to the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs later in the day, UE’s postseason hopes were officially dashed.
The loss dropped the Junior Warriors to a 5-8 record with only one game remaining, while Adamson had already secured a 7-6 slate.
With this result, the Baby Falcons completed the Final Four cast alongside the NU-Nazareth School Bullpups, the Tiger Cubs, and the Baby Tamaraws.
Meanwhile, UST (11-2) officially secured the second seed and the last twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals with their win over Adamson, leaving FEU-D (9-4) locked into the third seed.
Cabonilas delivered a dominant performance, finishing with a career-high 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, two blocks, and two assists.
His heroics in the clutch helped FEU-D improve to 9-4, sealing UE’s elimination from the Final Four race.
“Ito yung mga games na prinepare kami papunta sa Final Four. Yung mga bata, talagang may dugong Tamaraw. Hindi sila nagquit, lalo na sa depensa, lalo’t na dahil nahold namin [UE] to 11 points sa fourth quarter. Nandoon kami sa direksyon na kailangan namin maabot heading into the Final Four,” said Baby Tamaraws head coach Denok Miranda.
UE held a 62-57 lead with 2:57 remaining after a deep triple from Xedric Diaz, but FEU-D responded.
Marc Burgos drained a long two-pointer and followed it up with a layup, cutting the deficit to 62-61 with 1:01 left.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The Junior Warriors then crumbled under pressure.
A 24-second shot clock violation led to a Cabonilas layup, and an errant inbound pass from Lance Sabroso resulted in a Jheremy Godoy basket inside, giving the Baby Tamaraws a 65-62 lead with 24 seconds remaining.
UE had multiple chances to extend the game.
Kristoper Lagat missed a potential game-tying three, but Ivorian center Jean Bana stole the ball from Cabonilas to give the Junior Warriors one last shot.
However, the Gilas Youth standout immediately redeemed himself by blocking Diaz’s three-point attempt, securing the win.
Burgos contributed 10 points, three rebounds, three blocks, and an assist for FEU-D, while Liam Salangsang added nine points, three rebounds, and one assist.
For UE, their two-decade-long Final Four drought in boys’ basketball continues.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Meanwhile, UST ended Adamson’s three-game winning streak.
If NU-Nazareth School completes an elimination round sweep, UST, as the second seed, will face the winner between FEU-D and Adamson in the stepladder semifinals.
The Tiger Cubs will have a golden opportunity to deny the Bullpups an outright Finals berth when they face off on the last day of the eliminations, Thursday, March 6, at the same venue.
“Hats off sa boys, sila nagtrabaho nito. Start ng season pa lang, ‘yon naman ang goal namin na makaabot kami sa top two… Kailangan namin ng maraming dasal against NUNS para masulit yung second seed namin,” said UST head coach Manu Iñigo.
He added, “Yung practices namin na parang pang championship naman, tutuloy lang namin yung sinimulan namin. Dadagdagan lang namin yung aggressiveness at effort namin.”
In the low-scoring affair, a Charles Bucsit three-pointer and two free throws from Carl Manding helped UST maintain a 41-32 lead heading into the final quarter.
Adamson attempted a comeback, with a Mark Esperanza layup trimming the deficit to 48-40.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
However, the trio of Senegalese forward Racine Kane, Koji Buenaflor, and Wacky Ludovice combined for a 9-3 run, extending UST’s lead to 57-43 with 1:51 left to seal their 11th win in 13 games.
Buenaflor led the Tiger Cubs with 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Kane made an immediate impact in his return with 10 points, 14 rebounds, and a block.
Co-captain Kirk Cañete contributed seven points, seven assists, and six rebounds, while Ludovice added six points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
For Adamson, Allen Perez tallied 13 points, five rebounds, and three blocks in a losing effort, while CJ Umali had nine points, two rebounds, and an assist.
Esperanza struggled, finishing with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, along with four rebounds and one assist.
Earl Medina went scoreless for the first time this season, going 0-of-8 from the field, but he contributed seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
Ethan Aguas paced the Junior Warriors with 21 points — 16 of which came in the first half — along with nine rebounds and an assist while Edry Alejandro nearly had a double-double with eight points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
The Scores:
Second Game (Boys)
FEU-D (66) – Cabonilas 32, Burgos 10, Salangsang 9, Godoy 6, Hall 3, Pascual 2, De Guzman 2, Raneses 2, Gemao 0, Maierhofer 0, Castillejos 0.
UE (62) – Aguas 21, Timbol 9, Alejandro 8, Bana 8, Bual 4, Diaz 3, Lorenzo 3, Sabroso 2, Chua 2, Lagat 2, Farochilen 0, Dahino 0, Cuevas 0, Almanza 0.
Quarterscores: 14-23, 35-34, 48-51, 66-62.
Third Game (Boys)
UST (62) – Buenaflor 16, Kane 10, Canete 7, Ludovice 6, Acido 6, Bucsit 5, Cinco 5, Manding 4, Vidanes 2, Javier 1, Bohol 0, Esteban 0, Bandingan 0.
AdU (48) – Perez 13, Umali 9, Esperanza 7, De Jesus 5, Murillo 5, Abayon 4, Sajili 4, Caspe 1, Medina 0, Jenodia 0, Matilliano 0, Penafiel 0,
Quarterscores: 13-13, 29-22, 41-32, 62-48.
