Tigers rap Maroons, reach F4

MANILA, Philippines - Kevin Ferrer atoned for his so-so performance the last time out, rifling in a career-high 29 points and pulling down a season-high 14 rebounds to lead University of Santo Tomas to an 83-76 win over University of the Philippines and into the Final Four of the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball last night at the MOA Arena.

Ferrer, who struggled with a 1-of-11 shooting and 13 markers in the Tigers’ 74-80 loss to Ateneo last Wednesday, bounced back strong and drained 23 points in the second half to fuel UST’s breakaway.

The Tigers picked up their ninth victory in 11 matches and joined idle Far Eastern (9-1) in the next round.

“Kevin made up for his previous performance. As a leader he did what he was supposed to this game,” said UST coach Bong dela Cruz, whose wards returned to the semis after falling short last season.

Ferrer hit back-to-back treys to give UST a 52-42 lead in the third and continued his heroics in the payoff period, coming through with a key putback that gave the squad an 80-72 cushion with 39.9 seconds left.

Dela Cruz, who rued the Tigers’ lack of heart in their loss to the Eagles, was somehow satisfied this time,

“In our locker room I erased the word ‘heart’ in our slogan ‘No heart, no chance.’ The boys responded and wrote the word ‘heart’ there and then showed it in the game, especially Kevin,” said Dela Cruz.

Louie Vigil (16) and Ed Daquioag backed up Ferrer.

The Maroons, who were led by Jett Manuel’s personal-best 21, absorbed their seventh loss against three wins.

Earlier, Kiefer Ravena torched the hoops with 32 points spiked by six triples while Von Pessumal chipped in 20 markers as Ateneo defeated National U, 68-59, to boost its semis bid.

Ravena started things off for AdMU, knocking down six consecutive treys as the Eagles took a 19-4 headstart in the first, then Pessumal finished the job off, dropping nine points in the fourth quarter as Ateneo secured its seventh win in 11 starts and solo third.

The Bulldogs slipped to 4-7 but still remain in the hunt for the semis.

“This win put us two games ahead of the fourth placer (La Salle at 5-5) and also gave us the opportunity to catch up with the No. 2,” said Ateneo coach Bo Perasol.

Fueled by a sizzling 21-point burst in the first, Ravena finished with 26 at the half – the highest since he and former Far Eastern star Terrence Romeo each tallied 22 outputs after two quarters in Season 74 and 75, respectively.

“I guess it’s just one of those nights during the first quarter. I was taking off-balance shots, I was making them. Thankfully, the Lord was guiding my shots. I didn’t have the explosiveness yet (to drive) after hurting my left ankle last game. It’s still painful. But I did everything. And everybody just grinded it out,” Ravena said.

Ravena and Pessumal, who nailed four treys, scored all but 16 of Ateneo’s tally.

“I had emphasized how our bench helped us through in the last few games but so much for that already because it took Von and Kiefer to score 52 points out of our 68. Offensively there was really the effort from everybody, getting them open through screens and Kiefer starting that hot. But in the end, it was our defense that really counted,” said Perasol.

Gelo Alolino paced NU with 17 points.