By Andrei M. Barrantes

Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw Josee Kaputu chipped in a new scoring milestone despite the 85-106 loss against University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigresses in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season 86 women’s basketball tourney today, November 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Kaputu powered through 37 points, 15 rebounds, and only one foul while drawing nine fouls from UST. 

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Kaputu spoke on how important it was for her to bounce back after being handicapped in the previous game due to foul trouble.

“I think today I [did] my best because the last game the referee did not allow me to play. Four fouls in the first half… That’s why when I got back home I just thought that I need to play hard today,” she said.

FEU trailed by large margins against the second-ranked UST throughout the game despite shooting an efficient 47% from the field and 34% from deep.

Heading into the second half, FEU showed more aggression, opting to score in the perimeter.

Kaputu had the bulk of the scoring while Morayta guard Shane Salvani played distributor, racking up five assists.

By the end of the third frame, FEU outscored UST and cut the 19-point lead to 12.

FEU faltered in the fourth and struggled to stop Growling Tigress Brigette Santos, who won player-of-the-game honors with 20 points and six steals.

While the green-and-gold starters dominated the scoring, the UST bench outscored FEU’s reserves 57 to 22.

Morayta backup guard Julie Manguiat carried the second unit scoring 16 points and five triples while Jaina Del Prado completed the Lady Tamaraws with double-digit scoring, chipping in 15 markers.

FEU extends their losing streak to five and their win-loss record to 3-9 ahead of their final game against Adamson University on November 19 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

(Photo by Raph Bautista/FEU Advocate)