The Tamaraws stared defeat in the eye yesterday as they trailed by a point inside the final minute. But costly misses by the Warriors in the dying seconds helped them get away.
Paolo Hubalde was short with a triple in the final 32 seconds while Niño Canaleta just couldn’t handle the pressure, missing two free throws with FEU ahead, 63-62, with five seconds left.
The victory was the eighth in 10 games for the Tamaraws while the loss was the fifth, also in 10 games, for the Warriors who came so close to another shocking win in the UAAP’s 67th season.
All roads lead to the Araneta Coliseum this afternoon for the Ateneo-La Salle showdown which could be the last for the two explosive teams this year.
Ateneo won their initial encounter last July 11, coming back from 15 points down and leading to a string of seven consecutive wins. Today’s game is set at 4 p.m.
Ateneo, however, will have to try harder without Larry Fonacier who bid his UAAP career goodbye after a knee injury. He led all scorers in last month’s Ateneo-La Salle match.
Earlier yesterday,
National University forced Santo Tomas into a season-high 31 turnovers as it hacked out an 82-63 victory, its first – and hopefully not the last – this season.
Dave Catamora scored 14 points while Alex Miclat and Cesar Estolano Jr. added 11 apiece as the Bulldogs finally had their names written on top of the score sheet after nine straight losses.
The victory has long been overdue for NU following a couple of heartbreakers this year – an overtime loss to FEU in the first round and a double-overtime loss to Adamson in the second.
For reasons they tried to hide, NU coach Rico Perez benched main man Rey Mendoza the whole game, saying it was just a strategy although sources said there was a serious rift between the two.
Then after the victory that surely made him so happy, Perez skipped the post-game interview and instead sent his assistant, Bryant Tolentino, to the press room.
"Part of the strategy lang namin iyon," was the excuse given by Tolentino on why Mendoza, playing below-par in recent games, was kept glued on the bench the entire game.
The Tigers clearly took the Bulldogs for granted and were made to pay a heavy price – a sixth loss in 10 outings and a big blow to their Final Four chances.