Tamaraws hold on vs Falcons in OT

MANILA, Philippines -- The Far Eastern University Tamaraws blew an eight-point fourth quarter lead but recovered just in time to hold on against the gritty Adamson Soaring Falcons, 76-72, in overtime in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

FEU has now won two of its last three games to open its second round campaign with a victory.

Jorick Bautista led the charge for the Morayta-based squad with 21 points, with nine coming in the overtime period. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Mo Konateh imposed his will inside with a monster double-double of 13 points and a whopping 26 rebounds, one away from the men’s league record of 27.

The Tamaraws led by eight, 50-42, early on in the fourth quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers by Rojan Montemayor.

Adamson then unleashed a furious 14-2 run capped by back-to-back layups by John Calisay to give them a 56-52 advantage with 2:04 remaining.

Three free throws by Bautista and Janrey Pasaol cut the lead to one, 55-56, with 52.6 seconds to go.

Monty Montebon then sank a pair of freebies to put them up by three, 58-55, before Adamson fouled Royce Alforque in the next possession.

Alforque missed both free throws, but FEU was able to haul down the board, as it went to the hands of Bautista. He then hoisted up a huge 3-pointer to tie the game up with 14.2 ticks left.

Adamson had the chance to win the game, but Ced Manzano missed a floater as time expired.
Come the overtime period, the Tamaraws banked on Alforque, Bautista and Veejay Pre to build a six-point lead, 68-62, with 1:27 remaining.

Montebon tried to tow the Falcons back into it, unleashing 3-pointer after 3-pointer.

He was able to cut the lead to two, 72-74, after a triple from way beyond the arc with 4.5 seconds to go.

A pair of free throws by Bautista, though, closed the door completely on a comeback.

FEU head coach Sean Chambers, after the game, said the squad is “getting there and getting there.”

“What I thought about this morning is we’re really like four and a half months in this journey with me as a head coach, and we’re starting to see the light of our offense and some of our schemes. I just feel like they’re getting there, and it would just take the older kuyas to hit the big shot for us to get over the hill for the young guys,” said  Chambers.

Pre finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the winning team, while Alforque had nine. Pasaol and Montemayor chipped in eight apiece.

Montebon scored 15 of his 16 in the second half and overtime. AJ Fransman added 11, while Calisay and Manzano had 10 each.

Adamson will try to arrest its three-game losing streak when it takes on La Salle next Saturday, while FEU will clash in UE on Sunday. Both games will be at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.