Far Eastern University broke defending champion La Salle’s vaunted full-court press as it hacked out an 83-75 victory yesterday and seized a share of second place in the 71st UAAP basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.
Guards Andy Barroca, Jens Knuttel and JR Cawaling worked so well against the La Salle press and guided the Tams to their eighth win in 11 outings, good for a tie with the Green Archers.
The Tams also denied the Green Archers an outright entry to the Final Four.
Ateneo remained on top of the field at 10-1, already assured of a slot in the Final Four.
“We used three point guards at the same time specifically for La Salle, a team known for its full-court press. I’m glad it worked,”said FEU coach Glenn Capacio, still missing star forward Mac Baracael and Papua New Guinean rookie Robert Kave.
Barroca had a career-high 26 points spiced by a 13-point splurge in the fourth quarter that helped FEU stave off La Salle’s late fightback.
But Barroca, a 21-year-old transferee from University of Zamboanga, said it was his backcourt partner, Knuttel, who made it easier for them.
“Jens helped me find my shots. He made things easier for me and the team,” said Barroca.
Knuttel joined the scoring parade with 11 points topped with seven assists, four rebounds, two steals, serving as the glue that kept the Tams together.
When the final buzzer sounded, Knuttel, a Fil-German, pointed his finger upwards, signaling the win that avenged a controversial 62-73 first-round loss to La Salle that led to the suspension of a referee.
The win denied the Archers an outright Final Four berth. La Salle is eyeing a 14th straight stint in the semis while FEU is eyeing their 11th trip in 15 years.
La Salle’s loss also gave Ateneo a bigger chance of landing in the top two and clinch a twice-to-beat advantage.
It was a rude sendoff for La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, who is set to take a temporary leave to call the shots for the RP team seeing action in the FIBA-Asia Junior Men Championship slated Aug. 28-Sept. 5 in Tehran, Iran.
Earlier, Santo Tomas whipped up a third-quarter storm as it rallied to trounce National U, 68-58, and remained in the Final Four race with a 5-6 record.
“Our mission is to make the Final Four,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio, whose charges will take on La Salle, UE and UP in their last three matches in the elims.
The Bulldogs took their ninth loss against two triumphs to bow out of contention.