Resilient Tams outlast Archers to remain on top

Far Eastern University (FEU) showed its resilient side against La Salle on Thursday giving the Green Archers a dose of their own medicine when it comes to making huge rallies in the homestretch. The Tamaraws came back from a nine-point deficit with less than six minutes left in regulation then needed two extra periods to complete an 84-80 win against a tough and young Green Archers side to remain undefeated in the 73rd UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum. Facing a possible loss, the Morayta-based cagers came charging back behind "super" sophomore guard RR Garcia to force overtime after trailing by nine, 64-55, with five minutes and 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Garcia, who stole the ball from Simon Atkins, tied the count at 68-all with a layup 9.2 ticks left in regulation. Both teams failed to score forcing the first overtime. Neither team gained the upperhand after five minutes of extra time pushing for another extension, 74-74. Paul Sanga broke a 74-all tie with a putback off an Aldrech Ramos miss jumper then went 2-of-3 at the free throw line after being fouled by Joshua Webb while attempting a three-pointer for a 78-74 lead with 2:48 remaining. Atkins cut the lead in half but Garcia, struggling for most of the second half, came alive in the final two minutes setting up Cameroonian teammate Pipo Noundou for a three-point play and later scored on a teardrop shot for an 83-76 count with 63 ticks to go. By pulling off the escape act, the Tamaraws kept their solo lead with a perfect 5-0 card but coach Glenn Capacio blasted game officials during the postgame interview. "No. It's because of the officiating. That's what I think" said Capacio, downplaying overconfidence as the main reason in FEU's poor first half showing. "We're not playing within our system because the players are getting lost because of fouls. So we hope that they (officials) would be more consistent because the league is so competitive this year." The game was marred by both teams combining for 43 fouls, 26 of which came in the first half. "In the first half, the calls were very tight against us so we can't play defense unlike them (La Salle), they can do almost all things so we had a hard time to adjust," said Capacio, who was slapped with a technical – his second this season – during the second quarter. Capacio also received a technical in FEU's 94-70 rout of University of the Philippines on Sunday. Garcia, who was held to seven points in the first half and scoreless in the third period, scattered 11 in the fourth and two extra periods but it was seldom used big man Carl Cruz, a rookie transferee from Metro Manila College in Novaliches, who had a breakout game for the Tams. Garcia also had four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks despite turning over the ball six times Cruz had 16 points, four rebounds and three blocks to make up for the struggling Ramos and Reil Cervantes, who combined for a 5-of-21 shooting from the field. Ramos was held to five points and seven rebounds while Cervantes had 12 markers behind a 4-of-17 field goal shooting but collected 10 boards. Cruz, however, was there to step up for the Tams. The 6-foot-4 power forward made seven points in the third that helped FEU tie the game at 51-all in the final 1:18 of the third period after trailing by 10 midway in the quarter. However, La Salle, behind lanky center Yutien Andrada, regained the upperhand in the fourth and enjoyed a 64-55 spread with 5:53 left but squandered the lead down the stretch. It was a devastating defeat for the Green Archers, who overcame a nine-point deficit to stun bitter rival Ateneo, 66-63, behind sophomore guard Sam Marata's back-to-back triples. Marata had 16 points off a 4-of-6 shooting from downtown but was a non-factor in the fourth and overtime periods thanks to FEU’s tight defense, which also hounded La Salle inside the shaded lane in the final minutes of the second extension. "I told the players to stay home on him because his hands are very good. At least in the fourth quarter and overtime, he was a marked man," Capacio said on Marata. Joshua Webb topscored for La Salle with 17 points but shot 5-of-16 from the field while Maui Villanueva made 11 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double effort. It was the Green Archers' third straight loss over the Tamaraws since last season and 4-of-5 since the second round of the 2008 season. - JVP, GMANews.TV