MANILA, Philippines - Terrence Romeo starred anew in leading FEU to a lopsided win over hard-luck UP squad, 87-69, to guarantee a playoff for a twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four of the 76th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the MOA Arena in Pasay city Wednesday.
Romeo erupted for a career-high 33 points, grabbed nine boards and dished out five assists while Mike Tolomia added 14 markers to help the Tamaraws jump back to the top of the standings with a 10-4 slate.
"I always say Terrence will always be Terrence. He'll have his good days and bad days, you just have to accept it, the same way with his teammates," said FEU coach Nash Racela.
"But if you noticed he shot less the past two games he just picked his spots and still involved the team," he added.
UP managed to cut the deficit to 63-74 with 5:29 remaining but FEU answered with a 9-0 blast, with Romeo accounting for six points. This effectively took the fight out of the Maroons.
"We're satisfied with our play but I'm not saying andun na kami sa level na gusto namin. We're still working on a lot of things," said Racela.
"Mas pagbuhutihun namin sa Final Four. Kung ano man nakuha namin this elimination, tapos na yun. Mag-fo-focus naman kami sa Final Four," said Romeo, who has beat his career high in two straight games after scoring 32 in their last game."
Samuel Marata led the Maroons with 23 points while Raul Soyud added a double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds. But those were not enough as UP lost its 13th game to remain winless in the season.
Romeo, a leading candidate for Most Valuable Player, exploded for 17 first half points as FEU raced to a 46-28 lead at the break.
The Tamaraws’ hot shooting propelled them in the first half with a 50 percent shooting clip compared to a paltry 24 percent from the Maroons.