Eagles avenge loss to Tams

Ateneo showed a lot of poise against a rallying Far Eastern University yesterday and pulled off a 78-74 victory to remain on top of the 71st UAAP season at the Philsports Arena.

It was payback time for the Blue Eagles who lost to the Tamaraws in the first round of the eliminations. In that encounter, it was FEU which played with so much poise and emotion.

The Blue Eagles notched their seventh win against the lone defeat while the Tamaraws, now sourly missing two of its big men, took its second straight loss for a 5-3 card.

Eric Salamat, who dislocated his jaw in the second quarter of Ateneo’s loss to FEU last July 31, played like man-possessed. He sizzled with 18 points, including four booming treys.

“I’m happy for him. I thought he’s on his way to this type of game the last time we played FEU and then he dislocated his jaw. Luckily it wasn’t broken,” Ateneo coach Norman Black said.

“He’s really the anchor of our second team. He should be starting actually but Chris Tiu is still part of the team and they both play the same position pretty much.

“We really count on him a lot coming off the bench to be our leader,” he added.

FEU star Mac Baracael, who was shot by a still unidentified assailant a few weeks ago, may be out for the rest of the season while Robert Kave flew back home to Papua New Guinea after the incident.

Tiu kept Ateneo’s head above water early when the Tamaraws controlled the tempo. He finished with 16 points, the same output of 6-foot-6 Rabeh Al-Hussaini.

The Tamaraws drilled in five triples in the first half but couldn’t sustain the pace in the second.

“Their three-point shooters hurt us. Luckily we hung on in the end,” said Black, owner of 10 titles in the PBA, including a grand slam, although he has yet to win one for Ateneo.

Paul Sanga lit an 8-0 blitz with a pair of triples to turn a 17-all deadlock into a 25-17 FEU lead early in the second quarter.

But Tiu unloaded a seven-point splurge that sparked a 19-8 run. Jai Reyes capped that run with a triple at the buzzer as the Eagles regained a 36-33 upper hand at the break.

Earlier, Santo Tomas drew strength from Jervy Cruz as it smashed Adamson, 97-83, to join idle University of the East at fourth place on 4-4 cards.

Cruz, the 21-year-old Nueva Ecija native playing his last year in the UAAP, hobbled his way to a personal high 29 points spiked with 15 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

UST also saw the return of starting guard Japs Cuan, who missed four games due to torn meniscus.

“He’s really our leader and he’s one of the best guards in the UAAP today,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio of Cuan. “We lost close games because he wasn’t playing. We’re really glad he’s back.”

Jan Colina and Paul Gonzalgo, son of former Ginebra star Dante Gonzalgo, each fired 20 points.