La Salle nips stingy FEU, 74-72, in UAAP S88 men’s basketball

DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY scrambled past Far Eastern University (FEU), 74-72, to return to the win column of the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The FEU Tamaraws had a golden opportunity to tie the game when Jorick Bautista found himself wide open for a baseline layup. But the shooting guard misfired with around seven seconds left. La Salle then burned precious seconds before being fouled — with FEU not yet in the penalty — effectively sealing the Green Archers’ bounce-back win.

La Salle successfully ran out the clock to preserve the victory after losing to University of Santo Tomas last Saturday, improving to 2-1 for solo fourth place.

“Of course coming off a loss you really want to win. We had a part in the game where we’re playing really, really well but in the UAAP you cannot say that you’re gonna have an easy win. FEU came back in the fourth and we just have to figure out our struggles in the fourth quarter,” said Green Archers deputy coach Caloy Garcia.

The Green Archers, who also went through the wringer before beating the Adamson Soaring Falcons in their season opener, now brace for their rivalry showdown with the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles on Sunday.

FEU trailed 51-64 entering the fourth but clawed back to within one, 69-70, with 2:25 left through the efforts of Mo Konateh, Janrey Pasaol, Mr. Bautista, and Jedric Daa.

But Mason Amos and Doy Dungo delivered back-to-back baskets for La Salle to stretch the lead to 74-69 with 1:32 remaining. Mr. Bautista answered with a clutch triple at the 54.4-second mark to trim it to 72-74, only to miss what would have been the game-tying layup in the dying seconds — the biggest what-if of the night.

Mr. Dungo, who stepped up in the absence of Kean Baclaan, sidelined with a sprained ankle.

(“I just stepped up because the team needed someone to step up since we were missing players. I just stayed composed and ready.”)

Mr. Dungo, a former UST Tiger Cub, showed his comfort inside the Quadricentennial Pavilion by scoring 17 points on seven-of-11 shooting to lead La Salle.

Mr. Amos added 14 points, four assists, and three rebounds, while Jacob Cortez also tallied 14 points with four assists and three boards.

EJ Gollena chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, half of them on the offensive glass.

Mike Phillips, despite being limited to six points on one-of-seven shooting, anchored the Green Archers with 13 rebounds and nine assists.

Meanwhile, the Tamaraws fell to 0-3, joining idle University of the East at the bottom of the standings.

Mr. Pasaol paced FEU with 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Mr. Konateh contributed a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kirby Mongcopa posted 13 points and seven boards. Mr. Bautista finished with 10 points.

FEU will try to break into the win column when it faces Adamson University on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. — John Bryan Ulanday