Archers survive ‘seasoned’ Tams

The Green Archers almost cracked against the Tamaraws, a group of veterans disguised as rookies.

Still, it was La Salle’s poise that prevailed in the end yesterday as it escaped with a 64-61 win over FEU and remained unbeaten in the 70th UAAP basketball tournament.

“I told you, they’re no rookies. They’re veterans,”said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren of the Tamaraws who gave the Green Archers a very difficult time all throughout the 40-minute contest.

“But the upside of this game is that my players should now realize that the coming games won’t be a walk in the park like our first two games,” said Pumaren.

FEU has 10 rookies in its fold although eight of them are either school transferees or have been with the FEU training pool for quite some time. And it showed in the game.

The big La Salle crowd at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium shared some anxious moments as the Tamaraws took control of the game and was still ahead midway in the final quarter.

It was until Peejay Barua, Tyrone Tang and Rico Maierhofer rose to the occasion and helped turn the tables on the Tamaraws who tried to steal the game until the final buzzer.

Earlier, defending champion Santo Tomas found its way out of the cellar, beating Adamson, 96-84, after losing its first two games to title contenders UE and FEU.