Limping Tams nip Falcons, gain 2nd win

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern bucked the absence of Terrence Romeo and John Clarence Foronda, scoring a hard-earned 67-60 victory over Adamson yesterday in the 2012 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Hanes Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

The Tamaraws had a difficult time fending off the pesky Falcons until Cris Tolomia’s trey in the final 35 seconds gave them a 65-58 cushion en route to their second win in three starts, good for second behind National U’s 4-0 in Group B.

The Falcons dropped to 1-1.

“We struggled to adjust because without Terrence, we only had one legitimate guard inside. We tried Tolomia at the point and he played okay,” said FEU coach Bert Flores in Filipino.

Romeo and Foronda served out their one-game suspension for their involvement in a fight with Lyceum’s Faustine Pascual Monday.

RR Garcia and Anthony Hargrove each had 12 points, while Tolomia added 10 for the Tams. Eric Camson and Alex Nuyles had 13 and 10, respectively, for the Falcons. Rodney Brondial added nine, but missed five free throws that could have turned the game around for Adamson early in the fourth quarter.

In the second game, De La Salle University outsteadied Letran, 80-73, to barge into the win column with an even 1-1 card.

Jeron Teng had 15 and lanky Yutien Andrada added 13 for the Green Archers, who also drew double figures from Norbert Torres and Mark Tallo with 12 and 10, respectively.

Kevin Alas and Jam Cortes shared scoring honors with 16 points each for the Knights, who dropped to 1-1.

Luigi dela Paz, who had five points, set a tournament high nine assists while Tallo had 5 for La Salle, which had 25 total feeds to Letran’s 17.

The Falcons stuck with the Tams from the start and were only trailing by three, 45-48, at the close of the third quarter.  They were still in the fight at 60-62 after a putback by Lloyd Abrigo, before Tolomia launched the crucial trey from left flank on the next play.