Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws fell short against De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 70-80, adding another loss in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 men’s basketball tournament today, November 15, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Morayta-based squad have yet to start the match again failing to score despite winning against the green-and-white shirts in a jump ball.

With Aaron Bagunu starting for LJay Gonzales, the Tamaraws struggled to play their offense and defense which resulted in back-to-back three point shots from La Salle.

The green-and-gold squad successfully threw a shot beyond the arc from Jorick Bautista and a buzzer beater from Gonzales to bring down the lead to 3.

With Gonzales leading the way, the Tamaraws started to answer back with the baskets of Archers and tried to grab the momentum.

Patrick Sleat’s three consecutive two-point shots together with Bautista’s second trey helped them to snatch the lead, 32-30.

In the latter part of the second period, the green-and-gold squad forced pressure on the offense of the Archers which resulted in a penalty foul ending the first half, 40-41.

During the third quarter, both teams played consistent plays answering each other’s two-point basket.

Although Tamaraw second stringer Miguel Ona  scored 8 points only in the third period to gain the momentum, La Salle still claimed the lead at the end of the period, 61-62.

While the game was tight, the Miranda-led squad showed fatigue in the fourth quarter as they were only limited to nine points.

Bautista led the Tamaraws with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Sleat chipped in 11 points with six rebounds and five assists.

In a post-game interview with FEU Advocate, Bautista mentioned that their efforts as a team were disoriented during the second half.

“Okay naman kami nu’ng first half, kaso bumalik ‘yung problem namin na nagsarili kami. Medyo hindi na namin na-execute ‘yung game plan nung dulo na. Pero aayusin naman namin ‘yun, babawi kami next year (We were okay in the first half, but our problem came back that we were independent. We didn't quite execute the game plan at the end. But we will fix that, we will come back strong next year)”, he disclosed.

Second leading scorer Sleat also added that they will work on their problem in losing games during the latter part. 

“Fourth quarter game defeat na naman. Lahat ng loss laging sa huli, so those are things that we need to work out (Fourth quarter game defeat again. All the losses are always in the end, so those are things that we need to work out)”, he added.

Gonzales and Ona also helped the team with 10 points apiece, along with 12 rebounds and four assists combined.

The green-and-gold squad stays in seventh place on the leaderboards with a 3-10 win-loss record and will try to finish off the tournament with a win against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Saturday, November 18, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

-Leiniel A. Santos

(Photo by Zedrich Xylak Madrid/FEU Advocate)