MANILA, Philippines – Far Eastern University unleashed another gear in the clutch moments of the game to thwart a gritty DLSU side, 65-60, to take the No. 2 semis spot and the twice-to-beat edge that comes with it in the 77th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday.
Carl Cruz caught the break of the game when he was left alone during a broken play, which instead turned into a golden 3-point play opportunity that gave the Tamaraws a 63-60 lead with 22 ticks left.
Almond Vosotros had a chance to tie the game but missed on a wide-open triple and Jeron Teng fouled Mike Tolomia, who split his free throws to giving put FEU further ahead, 64-60, with 7.7 seconds left.
The Archers failed to convert in the next possession, leading to another foul. Cruz then sealed the deal by splitting his free throws for the final score.
"It was really hard coming off that loss to Ateneo today. It just showed the character of the team. Sabi namin if you want to succeed in life you have to persevere. It wasn't really easy to beat La Salle," said FEU coach Nash Racela.
Despite the win, Racela was quick to douse the celebration and hinged on the things they still need to accomplish.
"We haven't achieved anything yet that's why I had to talk to them not to celebrate too much. Malayo pa kami. We still need another win for us to get to the finals. Dapat low key lang tayo, wala pa tayong nararating," he said.
Tolomia paced the Tamaraws in the scoring department with 19 points while Mac Belo added a double-double effort of 15 markers and 10 boards for the Morayta-based squad, which is one win away from the Finals.
"Natatawa na ako sa sarili ko. Grabe yung pagsubok na binibigay sakin, ang bilis kaya thankful ako kay God sa opportunity na binigay sakin na makabawi agad," said Tolomia, who talked about his two missed free throws that spelled the difference in their loss to Ateneo.
"Two years na sila nagtatanggal sa amin so parang simula pa lang ng season, sila na ang pinaghahandaan ko," said Tolomia of his added motivation against La Salle.
Jason Perkins led the Archers with 15 points while Vosotros fired 13 markers for the defending champions, who need to win twice against FEU to enter the finals.