Tams escape Falcons’ claws

Defending champion Far Eastern University survived a late surge by Adamson to eke out a 58-55 victory yesterday and close in on leader Ateneo in the 67th UAAP basketball tournament at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Mark Isip and RJ Rizada paced the Tams with 14 and 10 points, respectively, although it was sophomore Jeff Chan who made the biggest basket of the game.

With Adamson inching closer from 11 points down to just 48-49, Chan drained an off-balanced triple that was enough to take the sting out of the Falcons.

"We were bothered by their zone defense especially in the closing minutes of the game. Good thing we made some crucial shots in the stretch," said FEU coach Koy Banal after his wards stayed in second at 7-2.

The Falcons had one more chance to send the game into overtime but Marvin Poloyapoy, who took cudgels from the injured Ramil Tagupa, threw a prayer from behind the arc that almost went in as the final buzzer sounded.

Patrick Cabahug’s triple and split charities by Dennis Miranda, Rizada and Isip allowed the Falcons to cut the deficit to three points at 55-58 with 4.7 seconds to go.

Mark Abadia, Kenneth Bono and Chad Alonzo led Adamson with a combined 32 points and 33 rebounds but the troika could not get the job done when it mattered.

It was the Falcons’ fifth loss against four wins as they stayed outside the magic four.

Earlier, La Salle showed no mercy in demolishing National University, 80-51, in the other game to check a disturbing two-game slump and enhance its Final Four hopes.

Diminutive Ty Tang played the biggest role in the victory, turning in 15 points, including seven in a bristling first-quarter that helped the Archers blow the game wide open.

Mark Cardona, Jun Jun Cabatu and Joseph Yeo backed Tang up with 13, 11 and 10 markers, respectively, as La Salle notched a fifth win in nine outings and joined University of the East at No. 3.

Cesar Estolano paced the Bulldogs with 14 points but none of his teammates scored more than eight points as they fell to a ninth straight setback.

"We were aggressive but it’s a long way to go," said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, who averted his first three-game losing skein since he took over as La Salle coach in 1998.