Tams oust Maroons, seal last semis slot

MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern U didn’t let this one slip away.

Making amends for their botched job last time, the FEU Tams charged ahead and kept their foot on the pedal to collar a 71-54 triumph over Adamson and clinch the last semis seat in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tourney yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Arvin Tolentino and Richard Escoto presided over a searing third-quarter run that put FEU up by 12 then Prince Orizu and Wendell Comboy took over for the mop-up as FEU progressed and avoided having to go through a playoff for Last-Four with pursuing University of the Philippines.

By picking up their seventh win, the Tams finished beyond the reach of the UP Maroons, who ended their elims slate with 6-8 following a 106-81 rout of the Bulldogs in the first game.

“I have to give it to the players – they never gave up, they never wavered in their desire to reach the Final Four,” said FEU coach Olsen Racela, whose team joined Ateneo (13-0), La Salle (11-2) and Adamson (9-5) into the next round.

Tolentino (14), Escoto (11), Orizu (10) and Comboy (nine) led the way for the Tams, who reached playoffs for the fifth-straight season.

The Tams found themselves in a must-win situation against already qualified Adamson after squandering a 15-point lead in an 84-87 loss to NU last Wednesday. They had a similar fourth-quarter meltdown in a close loss to UP last Oct. 28, that stalled their early advance.

 “We had so many chances (to clinch a semis berth earlier) such as the game against UP, which could have sent us to the Final Four already and also that one against NU. The players never gave up, they played their hearts out to reach the Final Four,” said Racela.

The Tams outscored AdU in the third 17-12 and more so in the fourth, 19-10, to get the job done.

FEU’s victory put to waste the spirited bid of UP, which was hoping for an AdU win to force a tie for No. 4.

“The ball wasn’t on our hands but what’s important for us was that we gave ourselves a chance for the playoffs. I’m really proud of how they played this game,” said UP coach Bo Perasol, whose wards settled for fifth.

Paul Desiderio tied his career high 30 points to lead the scoring parade for UP, which dealt NU its ninth loss to end the season.