The Far Eastern University Tamaraws picked up a character-building win after rallying back from 17 points down to stun the debuting Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 71-70, Wednesday afternoon at the indoor court of Greenhills West in San Juan City.
Fourth-year guard Wendelino Comboy did it on both ends to seal FEU’s second win in the 2018 SMART City Hoops Under-25 Summer Classic.
With Ateneo clinging to a 70-69 lead with 16.6 ticks left, Comboy cleaned up a Hubert Cani miss for the go-ahead basket. On the defensive end, the 6-foot guard swatted away Tyler Tio’s attempt. A final attempt by Anton Asistio missed as time expired.
“We lost Ron Dennison and Jojo Trinidad. We lost Ron’s defense and Jojo’s ledership. The next men up are Ino and Richard Escoto. Wendel especially, since he is a wing defender,” second-year Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela remarked about Comboy, who finished the game with 13 points, three steals, and a block. “Yung defense is what we need from him, yung offense bonus na lang.”
Behind foreign student-athlete Duom Duwam, the Blue Eagles led by as much as 17 points in the contest, 45-28. Down 59-44 early in the final frame, Arvin Tolentino caught fire, sparking a 15-0 run to knot the game at 59-all with 3:12 remaining.
Tolentino had a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds while Hubert Cani added 13 markers.
“Well, that’s what we want to develop, yung character. We joined a lot of preseason tournaments para yun nga to develop character, maturity, and familiarity,” said Racela. “Letran last game and Ateneo with two foreign players [Duom and Angelo Koume] na magagaling talaga, I have to give it to to our players. Lumalaban talaga sila.”
Duwan led Ateneo with 15 points, while Asistio chipped in 13 markers.
Ateneo did not have Thirdy Ravena and the Nieto brothers for the contest.
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons were able to go to 2-0 as well after fending off the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 75-69.
A balanced attack by the Fighting Maroons led by Bright Akhuetie powered UP to a 68-55 lead with 4:03 left. However, Letran stormed back with a 13-1 run capped by a JP Calvo lay-up to knot things with 1:20 remaining.
Jun Manzo then willed UP with a personal 6-0 spurt to buck the Knights, who have fallen to a 0-2 slate.
Akhuetie led six Maroons in double-digits with 14 points to go along with 16 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and a block. Transferee Jd Tungcab had 12 markers, while Javi Gomez De Liano, Paul Desiderio, David Murell, and Manzo had 10 markers each.
23 for 2023 Gilas cadet Juan Gomez de Liano was limited to just four points in his first game for UP in this tournament, presented by Chooks-to-Go.
Fourth-year floor general JP Calvo paced Letran with 14 points, but needed 19 attempts, while committing two turnovers. Jerrick Blanza and Bonbon Batilled added 11 points each.
On Saturday, Letran look to break into the win column when they take on neighbors Lyceum Pirates (0-1) at 2:00pm. FEU then hope to make it three wins a row when they face the debuting Saint Benilde Blazers at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
First Game:
FEU 71 – Tolentino 19, Comboy 13, Cani 13, Parker 6, Bienes 5, Inigo 5, Ebona 4, Escoto 2, Bayquin 2, Nunag 1, Ramirez 1, Tchuente 0, Casino 0, Tuffin 0, Stockton 0, Jopia 0.
ADMU 70 – Duwam 15, Asistio 13, Tio 10, Koume 8, Mamuyac 5, Belangel 4, Credo 3, Mendoza 3, Berjay 2.
Quarterscores: 12-15, 21-29, 38-50, 71-70.
Second Game:
UP 75 – Akhuetie 14, Tungcab 12, Manzo 10, Desiderio 10, Murell 10, De Liano Ja. 10, Desiderio 10, De Liano Ju. 4, Gozum 3, Dario 2, Espanola 0, Lim 0, Jaboneta 0.
CSJL 69 – Calvo 14, Batiller 11, Balanza 11, Agbong 6, Yu 5, Ambohot 5, Muyang 5, Balagasay 4, Galvelo 3, Mandreza 3, Celis 2, Taladua 0, Villanueva 0, Luciano 0, Banez 0, Pambid 0.
Quarterscores: 12-11, 27-30, 49-42, 75-69.
