Today Tabloid

Far Eastern University took a big step in its final-four aspirations after the Tamaraws defeated the University of Santo Tomas Tigers 74-69 in the men’s basketball tournament of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Sunday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

FEU limited UST to only one field goal in a crucial seven-minute stretch in regulation and then scored on a couple of hustle plays in overtime to raise its record to 7-3 and take hold of solo third place.

Down 51-35 in the third quarter, the Tamaraws went on a 25-9 windup to tie the count at 60 and send the game to extension.

“They showed a lot of heart to pull of this win. That’s all I can say," FEU coach Glenn Capacio said.

In overtime, the game was see-sawing until FEU guard Andy Barroca followed up his own miss to give the Tams a 66-62 lead at the 2:25 mark. Cervantes’s followup with 70 second remaining continue to put UST at bay 70-66 less than a minute to go.

The Tigers’ Khasim Mirza buried a long three-pointer to cut the deficit to 72-69 but he missed an open look at another triple in UST’s last possession.

Four free throws by FEU swingman JR Cawaling snuffed UST’s comeback try and iced the game for FEU.

The loss was a telling blow to UST’s semifinal drive. The Tigers (4-6) fell two games off no.4-ranked University of the East (6-4).

Jervy Cruz tacked 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead UST.

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