By Gio Carlo D. Castro

Coming off a loss to Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles, Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws charged back with a wire-to-wire win against De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 81-60, in the second round of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season 82 men’s basketball tourney, October 19 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

FEU shot a season-high of 54-percent from the field goal, sending the team at solo fourth with a 6-6 win-loss card, while the Taft-based cagers dropped to fifth with a 5-6 win-loss.

The Tamaraws were in full control of the game, igniting the flame with a 40-29 bucket in the halftime and torching the Archers with a 22-point lead in the second half, 74-52, courtesy of Kenneth Tuffin’ trey.

Despite the wire-to-wire triumph, Racela shared that they will consider their remaining games as a rubber match in order to keep their Final Four bid alive.

“Our mentality really was to treat this game as do-or-die game. We have three games left [including DLSU] and then all those games actually do-or-die games for us if we want to make it to the Final Four,” he said.

Moreover, Racela had no reason to celebrate the big win, knowing that FEU is also facing a tight Final Four race among University of Santo Tomas (UST), University of the Philippines (UP), Adamson University (AdU) and La Salle.

“Right now we cannot celebrate, no reason to celebrate. We’re happy with our win but we have two more games left. Kung napansin niyo [dikit-dikit] lahat (If you noticed, we’re all close to each other) from [ranks] two to six,” he said.

L-Jay Gonzales led the Tams for the third-straight game with 14 markers, five boards and seven assists, while FEU skipper Tuffin scored 14 points and five assists. Wendell Comboy and Torres also contributed, respectively with 12 and 11 points.

FEU’s next pivotal match will be against the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons on Wednesday, October 23 at the Smart Araneta Colisuem in Quezon City.

“[Naka-isa] na kami (We just had [a win out of three crucial games]) then we’re hoping for the same mentality for the next two games,” Racela ended.

(See full album: UAAP 82 Men's Basketball Round 2 - FEU vs DLSU)