Far Eastern University did its part to stay in the hunt for a UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Final Four berth, surviving a late rally by semifinalist University of Santo Tomas to escape with an 81–79 victory on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Now, the Tamaraws’ fate rests in the hands of the Ateneo Blue Eagles later in the day. Ateneo (6–7) must defeat De La Salle University (7–6) to create a triple-tie for the fourth seed among the three teams and trigger an extended playoff.
FEU wrapped up the elimination round with three straight wins for a 7–7 record, highlighted by a strong 5–2 finish in the second round.
“Kudos to UST, they came out and played hard, they didn’t just lay down… We just found a way to win but as I told my guys, we put ourselves in a situation to receive this reward of getting to 7-7. We continued to practice hard, we continued to work with one another, we love each other like family and it shows how we played earlier and kept grinding,” said Tamaraws head coach Sean Chambers.
UST ended the eliminations in third place at 8–6 and will face defending champion, twice-to-beat University of the Philippines in the Final Four.
FEU led 43–20 in the first half and held a 76–61 advantage with 4:22 remaining when UST mounted its final surge.
Collins Akowe, Gelo Crisostomo, and Nic Cabañero combined for a 14–3 run to bring the Growling Tigers within four, 76–80, with 33.9 seconds left.
On the other end, Janrey Pasaol split his free throws to extend FEU’s lead to five, but Crisostomo grabbed an offensive rebound off a Cabañero miss and converted the putback to cut the deficit to 80–77.
Crisostomo then came up with another steal off an FEU timeout, finding Mark Llemit, who controversially opted for a layup despite UST being down three, trimming the gap to just one with 2.4 seconds left.
Jorick Bautista sealed the game, sinking his first free throw and intentionally missing the second with 1.4 seconds remaining, forcing Llemit to attempt a desperation heave from three-quarters of the court.
“‘Yung maturity, ‘yun talaga ‘yung pinagtrabahuhan namin kaya pagdating ng second round, nakuha na namin ‘yun, alam na namin maghandle ng dikdikan na games. Nagbunga naman lahat, pagkatapos ng laro na ito tingnan natin,” said Bautista, who tallied 15 points, five assists, and three rebounds.
Mo Konateh anchored the interior with 15 points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks, while Luke Felipe powered FEU’s 46–25 first-half surge with 15 points.
Pasaol added 13 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, and five steals, while Kirby Mongcopa chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds.
If De La Salle defeats Ateneo in the rivalry game being played as of posting time, veterans Neil Owens, Miguel Ona, and Aeron Bagunu will have played their final game for FEU.
Crisostomo’s career-best outing of 28 points, six rebounds, four steals, and two blocks ultimately wasn’t enough.
Cabañero fired 17 points and hauled down six rebounds, while Akowe was limited to nine points and nine boards.
The Scores:
FEU (81) – Bautista 15, Konateh 15, Felipe 15, Pasaol 13, Mongcopa 13, Owens 4, Montemayor 3, Daa 3, Nakai 0, Ona 0, Jones 0, Macapagal 0.
UST (79) – Crisostomo 28, Cabañero 17, Akowe 9, Acido 5, Danting 4, Bucsit 4, Padrigao 2, Llemit 2, Buenaflor 2, Laure 2, Calum 2, Paranada 2, Estacio 0, Manding 0, Bangco 0.
Quarterscores: 14-8, 46-25, 63-48, 81-79.
