Not one, but two birds down on Tams’ mighty charge

MANILA, Philippines — First, the high-flying Adamson Falcons. Now, the soaring Ateneo Blue Eagles. 

In a span of four days, brave Far Eastern U brought down not one but two of the mightiest birds in UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball wars to validate its status as a serious contender in this tournament.

Four days after toppling unbeaten frontrunner Adamson (88-85), the brave Tamaraws continued their giant-killing spree and claimed the scalp of the streaking Eagles, 63-60, to vault into a share of No. 2 last night at the MOA Arena.

“Ako mismo di ko alam paano namin ginawa yun,” said triumphant FEU coach Nash Racela, whose wards have won third straight now and caught up with their victims at 5-2.

Earlier, Santo Tomas hammered a wire-to-wire 86-72 demolition of  UP to finish the first round with back-to-back wins for 3-4 overall on level with the Maroons.  

Racela gave props to his team, who worked double time in the face of a killer schedule and with top gun Arvin Tolentino serving his suspension.

“If you noticed, pinakagrabe ang schedule namin, we played five games in two weeks, playing Adamson and Ateneo back to back pa. And to add to that, we played Ateneo without our top scorer, Arvin. So credit to the players, although we didn’t have a good start, nakabalik kami. We did it because of the unselfishness of the players,” he said.

FEU stifled Ateneo to its season low in output, three points made (five), three-point field goal percentage (16 percent) and perimeter points (21) en route to its first victory head-to-head since a 66-61 verdict on Oct. 11, 2015.

“We really put emphasis on defense,” said Racela, whose wards held AdMU to seven points in the third to make it even after trailing by 10. 

The Tams drew heroics from shock troopers Axel Inigo, who hit successive treys to touch off a 17-9 blast that gave them a 56-49 cushion, and Brandey Bienes, who filled in for Tolentino with his eight-point effort.

Hubert Cani, a former Eagle, led scoring with 12 points highlighted by a clutch triple that secured a 61-56 upperhand going to the last 1:29.

The Scores:

First Game

UST 86 – Cansino 16, Subido 13, Zamora 12, Lee 11, Huang 9, Caunan 8, Bonleon 7, Agustin 5, Bataller 2, Mahinay 2, Marcos 1, Cosejo 0.

UP 72 – Akhuetie 18, Ja. Gomez de Liano 12, Dario10, Ju. Gomez de Liano 9, Desiderio 6, Murrell 6, Vito 3, Gozum 2,  Lim 2, Spencer 2, Tungcab 2, Jaboneta 0, Manzo 0.

Quarterscores: 31-16, 53-29, 76-46, 86-72

Second Game

FEU 63 – Cani 12, Inigo 9, Parker 9, Bienes 8, Comboy 8, Orizu 8, Stockton 5, Escoto 4, Bayquin 0, Ebona 0, Gonzales 0, Tuffin 0.

AdMU 60 – Kouame 16, Mi. Nieto 8, Ravena 8, Verano 8, Asistio 6, Mamuyac 6, Mendoza 4, Go 2, Wong 2, Belangel 0, Black 0, Navarro 0, Ma. Nieto 0, Tio 0.

Quarterscores: 11-19, 22-32, 39-39, 63-60