Tigers, Tams ward off Archers, Eagles

MANILA, Philippines - Santo Tomas and Far Eastern survived the tough grind in their second-round face-offs with La Salle and Ateneo, respectively, and stayed in the lead in the 2015 UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Kevin Ferrer caught fire in the fourth quarter after going 0-of-8 from the field through the first 30 minutes, leading the Tigers to a come-from-behind 81-79 over the Archers.

Earlier, Marc Belo, Russel Escoto and Michael Tolomia took charge at endgame as the Tamaraws fended off the Blue Eagles, 66-61, to stretch their hot streak from the first round of the elims.

UST and FEU both nailed down a seventh win in eight matches, thus stretching to three full games their lead over joint third placers La Salle (4-4) and Ateneo (4-4).

The Tigers and the Tams found the Archers and the Eagles much tougher than in their previous matchups. The UST and FEU measured up to the challenge, though, both getting to a triumphant start in the second round of play.

UST walloped La Salle, 77-61, in the first round while FEU crushed Ateneo, 88-64, in their initial setto.

The Tigers found it tough to repeat against the Archers despite a season breakthrough from Karim Abdul (18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks).

The Archers were in control until Ferrer hit his strides at the start of the fourth quarter, rattling in nine points in a decisive 14-2 run that turned the game around for UST.

At the finish, Ferrer buried two free throws that ensured their win, 81-76, with time down to 3.2 seconds.  

Belo scored 12 points while Escoto and Roger Ray Pogoy put in 10 points apiece for the Tams, who racked up their sixth straight win and seventh in all.

 “I don’t think we’re playing on championship level. We still have a lot to improve on especially on defense,” said FEU coach Nash Racela, cautioning his guys they haven’t achieved anything.

“We could have been 3-4 if not for a couple of breaks,” Racela also said.

From a 47-all count at the start of the fourth quarter, Belo, Al Francis Tamsi and Archie Iñigo combined for a pivotal 7-0 run as FEU established momentum on the way to a repeat win over the Eagles.

At endgame, Belo teamed up with Escoto and Tolomia as they held off Kiefer Ravena and his teammates.

On top of his team-high 12 points, Belo, the FEU main man, also produced five rebounds, two assists and one block as he won his personal duel with Ravena.

Belo helped neutralize Ravena at crunch time.

“Kiefer is a good, brilliant player. You have to really work hard to minimize his numbers,” said Belo.