FEU rallies past Crossover Canada, enters NBTC semis

MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University rallied from 15 points down to defeat Durham Crossover Canada, 87-84, and enter the semifinals of the 2019 NBTC 
National Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

RJ Abarrientos waxed hot in the fourth period as he almost singlehandedly towed the Baby Tamaraws into the Final Four with 20 points, including three triples. 

Abarrientos scored on a three-point play to give FEU its first taste of the lead, 78-76, with 3:31 to play. After Canada’s Denzel Faraon missed a triple attempt, FEU’s Royce Mantua scored on a lay-up to double the lead at 80-77; 2:36 left. 

Tayler Garcia’s triple attempt was blocked by Mantua in the next possession, and after an exchange of scoreless possessions, Abarrientos tacked on two free more throws to give the Baby Tamaraws a six-point lead, 82-76, with 1:24 to play. 

Jason Diaz scored on a lay-up for Canada to make it 82-78, but Abarrientos nullified that with two more free throws, 84-78, with 56 seconds left. 

Canada’s Marc Casilla had his triple rejected by Aeron Bengu but Canada was able to retain possession. Diaz fired a triple to give hope to Canada which booked its first quarterfinals slot in four years of participation in the NBTC National Finals, 84-81. 

Bautista split his free throws, 85-81, after which Abarrientos added two more from the striple, 87-81.Canada’s Elliot Dimaculangan came off the bench to put back a botched triple attempt by Garcia. 

After an inbound turnover by FEU, Canada had one last chance to send the game into overtime, but Dimaculangan’s attempt was way off target.

And the Baby Tamaraws punched their ticket into the semifinals of the biggest high school basketball tournament in the country this coming Friday, March 22. 

Abarrientos scored a game-high 32 points and added eight rebounds. Kyle Bautista added 19 while Cedric Ona poured in 11. 

Brendon Ocampo led Durham Crossover with 18 points while Jason Diaz, Denzel Faraon, and Tayler Garcia each contributed 17. 

Abarrientos has scored a total of 63 points in three games in the NBTC 
National Finals with 41 of them coming in the fourth quarter of play.