Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) —The Far Eastern University Tamaraws overcame a sloppy start to defeat the University of the Philippines, 63-60, on Saturday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Raymar Jose scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Tamaraws.
UP came out of the gates early in the game, clicking on all cylinders that resulted to a 20-point advantage.
A minor tweak on the defensive game plan of the Tams enabled them to trim the deficit to single-digit going into the halftime break.
FEU continued to push the tempo with steady plays from the guards and huge buckets from the big men in the third period.
The two teams headed into the final canto deadlocked at 46. It was a nip and tuck affair in the fourth period.
A crucial defensive stop from the Fighting Maroons in the dying seconds gave them the chance to tie or win the match, but Jett Manuel’s attempt went too wide.
Far Eastern University cruised to its seventh consecutive win to improve to 8-2, while UP absorbed its second straight setback to fall to 3-8.
Manuel paced the Diliman-based squad with 16 points.
Nash Racela and his wards will battle Adamson University on November 6 (Sunday) at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The scores:
FEU (63) – Jose 20, Trinidad 9, Arong 8, Inigo 7, Orizu 6, Ebona 5, Tuffin 4, Comboy 2, Holmqvist 2, Escoto 0, Dennison 0, Denila 0, Bayquin 0.
UP (60) – Manuel 16, Desiderio 13, Prado 10, Lim 5, Harris 4, Gomez De Liano 3, Dario 3, Moralde 2, Webb 2, Vito 2, Asilum 0, Jaboneta 0, Romero 0.
Quarterscores: 8-28, 27-36, 46-46, 63-60.
