Tams ram Tigers with huge 4th quarter run

MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University mounted a fiery 16-0 run to open their fourth quarter and defeat University of Santo Tomas, 78-65, in Saturday’s UAAP action at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Ron Dennison and Arvin Tolentino posted 15 points each to help the Tamaraws return to the winning column.

“‘Di ko alam na ganito pala sa UAAP. It’s hard to get wins. [It doesn’t] matter if you play Ateneo, La Salle or UST,” he said. “We had to grind it out. So lahat kailangan baguhin namin. This game we showed it — na kailangan namin paghirapan (ang games)."

“‘Yung first half namin was flat, siguro namiss kasi nami si Prince (Orizu) kasi may sakit eh,” Tolentino shared. “Maganda na ‘yung depensa namin nung second half, so nagstart na mag-flow ‘yung offense namin."

“Yung energy namin nung second half (is commendable). Nung first half kasi ang lamya, kaya di kami makakuha ng breaks sa defense eh,” added the veteran Dennison.

Jasper Parker and Ken Tuffin combined for 16 points to help FEU erase a 10-point cushion built by the UST in the first half. The Tamaraws also capitalized on their transition offense to make up for a bad long-distance shooting (7 of 26).

The Growling Tigers drew their production from Jeepy Faundo and Jordan Sta. Ana, who finished with 16 and 11 points respectively, but that wasn’t enough to lead the UST to their first win in four outings.

FEU will take on National University next, while UST will try to end their cold spell in the tourney against the streaking Ateneo de Manila University. Both games are on Wednesday at the Big Dome.