Rookie Xyrus Torres made sure to make up for his and the Far Eastern University Tamaraws’ disappointing game last Wednesday.
Three days ago, the Tamaraws wrote themselves into the wrong side of the school’s history books, finishing their game versus the NU Bulldogs with just 39 points. It was the worst scoring output of FEU in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament since 2003.
How horribly did the Tamaraws play during the game?
During the first half of the contest, FEU had zero assists while having 11 errors. Moreover, they missed 30 of their field goal attempts.
The Tamaraws ended the game shooting just 19-percent from the field.
And so against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, head coach Olsen Racela took a gamble, putting rookie sniper Xyrus Torres in the starting lineup.
“Ang pangit nung percentage namin against NU, so gusto ko ring matulungan yung seniors namin at mga iba kong teammates.”
The 6-foot guard fired nine points in the first half. Not yet done, Torres then knocked down three more triples in the third canto that saw FEU gain a huge 68-52 lead entering the final frame.
His fiery performance did not go for naught. FEU bounced back from their nightmare game against NU with an 83-71 victory over Adamson.
“It wasn’t easy to come back from our previous loss where we shot nineteen-percent, and all of a sudden we doubled it in today’s game,” said team consultant Nash Racela, crediting Torres’ performance as one of the reasons the Tamaraws shot well.
For the 19-year-old 3-and-D specialist, he plans to grow more into his role in the coming games as the second round grind begins.
“Siguro kailangan ko lang maging vocal at lalo kong iimprove yung shooting at dribbling ko.”
