Far Eastern University (FEU) exploited a crucial defensive weakness of De La Salle U at endgame as the Tamaraws pulled off a 48-46 escape yesterday that installed them as early tournament leaders in the UAAP men’s basketball competition at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Wily guard Michael Tolomia took rookie Jeron Teng to defense school and drew him on a one-on-one showdown before nailing a quick jumper that shattered a 46-all count and provided the marginal winning points at 48-46, with time down to 47.6 seconds.
“Maganda ang naging depensa nila sa halfcourt namin. Pero nakita ko na ang weakest defender nila si Teng. So, sinabihan ko si Michael na i-one-on-one niya na si Teng,” said FEU coach Bert Flores.
That gamble paid off for the Tamaraws who shot up to the top of the standings with two wins in as many starts while dealing the Green Archers their first loss in three games.
Ateneo de Manila revived its drive for five straight championships in the second game when the Blue Eagles shattered pre-tournament expectations about National University with an 89-65 rout.
The Blue Eagles, who mightily bounced back from a shocking 70-71 loss to University of Santo Tomas in their last outing, tied the Green Archers at 2-1 while the Bulldogs fell to 1-1 with the idle Tigers.
Nico Salva struck with 21 points, guard Kiefer Ravena had 17 while 7-foot Greg Slaughter dominated with 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Blue Eagles led from start to finish and humbled the Bulldogs with leads of as many as 27 points (87-60) in a smashing win that cast serious doubts on whether or not NU really has what it takes to dominate in the league.