FEU TAMARAWS WIN 20TH UAAP TITLE AFTER A DECADE OF DROUGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 03 Dec 2015
It took them ten years to finally bag another crown in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men's basketball tournament. The Far Eastern University Tamaraws finally nailed their 20th seniors' basketball title with a heart-pounding win over the University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers, 67-62. The series lasted until the third game, a do-or-die encounter Wednesday at the full-house SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws failed to win the crown when they appeared in the UAAP finals in 2010, 2011, and 2014. But this time they could not be denied of the well-deserved victory in the 78th season.
Mac Belo scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Tamaraws who went 11-3 in the elimination round with a nine-game winning streak. Belo had averages of 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and one block in the series to win the Finals MVP plum.
The Tamaraws' 10-point lead in the third quarter was erased when the Tigers exploded with a 16-0 rally which continued in the final quarter, which put FEU down by six points, 57-51. Roger Pogoy took charge of the offense as he poured in half of his 14 points in the last quarter, including a booming three-pointer to quash the UST lead, putting FEU ahead with an 8-1 blast.
Mike Tolomia, who scored 13 points, sank a crucial layup with 1:07 left to surge the Tamaraws ahead by three. Successive free throws by Belo and Russel Escoto in the dying seconds sealed the Tamaraws' title clinching win thus maintaining their reputation as the winningest team in the UAAP seniors' basketball.
Ed Daquioag topscored for UST with 21 points, poured in 10 points in a last quarter effort but fell short of bringing his team to the title win. Kevin Ferrer who scored 29 points in a series-tying Tigers' win last Saturday could only muster six points.
Belo, Pogoy, and Tolomia will graduate from FEU at least with a title in their hands. The last time the Tamaraws won the title was when Arwind Santos and Jeff Chan were at the helm of the team.
The Tigers on the other hand suffered their third defeat in the finals in the last four years. They also lost to Ateneo in 2012 and to De La Salle in 2013. Their last crown was in 2006 when they beat the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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