Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws absorbed another loss against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Tigresses, 66-82, in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s basketball tournament earlier today, October 21, at the Adamson Gymnasium in Manila City.

The Lady Tamaraws started the tight match playing catch-up with a consistent two-point lead over the Growling Tigresses.

In the latter part of the first quarter, the green-and-gold squad successfully knocked over the lead with Congolese center Josee Kaputu’s free throws, 17-15.

Both teams kicked off the second quarter with rock-solid defense, but Kaputu and green-and-gold forward Queennie Aquino added to their lead with a two-point jumper, respectively. Morayta-based cagebelle MJ Manguiat also added a shot from behind the arc.

Head Coach Bert Flores called a timeout as the Lady Tams struggled to maintain their momentum with 3:04 on the clock in the second frame.

The Flores-led squad failed to maintain their lead due to Lady Tigress’ Jane Pastrana basket with only 49.4 seconds left.

Lady Tam Shane Salvani failed to set up a play, ending the first half four points behind, 37-41.

During the third quarter, FEU grappled with bringing down the lead as the Lady Tigresses took multiple steals, leading them to an open drive to the basket.

Despite another successful shooting foul by Kaputu towards the end of third, the lady cagers of Morayta still suffered an eight-point lead, 48-56.

The España-based squad maintained control of the game throughout the fourth quarter, ending the match with a double-digit loss.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Coach Bert Flores mentioned that the team showed improvement despite the loss.

“Tumataas naman 'yung game namin, nag-iimprove kami. ‘Yung turnover points lang talaga, kumbaga pinapatalo namin sarili namin. Okay naman ‘yung gameplan namin (Our game [level] grows higher, we are improving. It is really the turnover points, like we are making ourselves lose. Our gameplan is actually okay),” he said.

Head Coach Bert also added that Kaputu already had good support from the local players.

“Natulungan nila si Josee, maganda din ‘yung laro ng lokal ngayon. Sila Salvanni at Aquino, kaso nga lang laging strong start, 'di kami makapag-finish ng strong (They helped Josee, the local's game is also good today. Salvanni and Aquino, it's just that they always start strong, we can't finish strong),” he added.

Kaputu performed another impressive offensive game as one of the top scorers of the league with 22 points, two assists, and two steals together with Aquino’s 18 points with a 63.6% field goal percentage.

The Lady Tams suffered a four-game losing streak with a 2-5 win-loss record, ending the first round eliminations sitting in sixth place on the tourney's leaderboard.

-Leiniel A. Santos

(Photo by Raph Bautista/FEU Advocate)