Romeo sizzles as Tams complete 1st round sweep

MANILA, Philippines – Terrence Romeo came through with a performance to remember as he willed Far Eastern U to a pulsating 74-71 win over Adamson Sunday to complete an impressive first round sweep of the 76th UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Romeo sizzled with a game-best 26 points including all of his team's final eight points that helped sealed the Tams their seventh straight victory, the Morayta-based school's best start since also stringing together seven straight triumphs to start the 2010 season.

"Yes, a first round sweep is an accomplishment," said FEU coach Nash Racela. "But it’s the bigger picture we're after because the season isn't over."

The strong start pushes FEU closer to a Final Four berth and one of the two twice-to-beat incentives as its seventh win put a three-game separation against the rest of the field headed by closest pursuers University of the East, Santo Tomas and National U on 4-3 (win-loss) slates.

NU snared a piece of second spot after turning back La Salle, 63-56, to snap out of an alarming two-game skid.

Reigning back-to-back MVP Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. came through with a strong performance as he wound up with 20 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.

And the Tams had to thank Romeo for it.

After trailing most of the way and by three, 58-61, midway in the final canto, FEU went to its pesky defense and then Romeo the rest of the way to zap the fight out of a faltering Adamson, which fell to a three-way logjam at fifth to seventh  with Ateneo and La Salle on 3-4 records.

Romeo, however, had to endure a sluggish start as after missing seven of his 11 attempts in the first half.

And then Romeo got his bearings back and used every kind of defender thrown at him by Adamson coach Leo Austria as target fodder.

"I was a little tight but I'm happy I got my rhythm back in the second half," said Romeo, who is on course of winning his first MVP award in the seniors division as he leads everyone in the race.

The Falcons though had one last chance to knot the count and force overtime after FEU's Mike Tolomia turned the ball over with a five-second violation with 15.9 seconds to go.

But Ar-raouf Julkipli misfired on an awkward-looking desperation three-pointer that sealed Adamson's doom.

The UAAP, meanwhile, will take a leave to give way for the FIBA-Asia Championship slated Aug 1 to 11 at the MOA Arena and will resume on Aug. 14 with La Salle and Adamson taking on each other at 2 p.m. and FEU battling NU at 4 p.m.

The scores:

FEU (74) – Romeo 26, Pogoy 9, Garcia 9, Belo 9, Tolomia 8, Hargrove 4, Mendoza 3, Sentcheu 2, Jose 2, Cruz 2, Inigo 0.

Adamson (71) – Cruz 21, Sewa 13, Brondial 13, Trollano 5, Julkipli 5, Agustin 4, Abrigo 4, Petilos 3, Cabrera 3, Rios 0, Monteclaro 0, Inigo 0.

Quarterscores: 20-13; 36-37; 54-56; 74-71.