By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Far Eastern University Tamaraws kept their University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 campaign alive after routing the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 82-56, on the final day of elimination play on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Needing to win to at least get a playoff for the last Final Four spot, the Morayta-based Tamaraws responded well, taking control of the contest right from the starting gate and never relinquishing the lead after.
The win set up FEU with a knockout match with the De La Salle Green Archers on Wednesday for the final semifinal spot.
La Salle and FEU finished with an identical 8-6 card along with the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons but with a higher quotient UP took third seed, leaving the Archers and Tamaraws to fight it out for number four.
Despite the loss, Adamson (10-4), which played sans top guns Jerrick Ahanmisi and Sean Manganti because of varying infirmities, still finished the campaign at number two, earning a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four like top seeds and defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles (12-2).
FEU raced to a 14-0 lead in the first six minutes of the opening quarter against Adamson, from which it would move on to build a 21-8 advantage after the first canto.
In the second period, Wendell Comboy kept the Tamaraws humming, helping his team to a 36-14 cushion midway into the frame.
They would extend it to 28 points, 44-16, with 3:02 to go before settling for a 46-22 lead at the halftime break.
The Falcons tried to show some life at the start of the third quarter but hardly had any success with the Tamaraws continuing to pound on them.
FEU’s lead stood at 34 points, 70-46, with under a minute to play in the quarter after which Adamson scored four straight points to make it a 70-40 count heading into the final quarter.
With the match pretty much under their control, the Tamaraws spent the final frame just fending off attempts by the Falcons to make things respectable.
FEU was on top, 75-47, with 5:01 left in the game and cruised to the victory from there.
Comboy led a balanced Tamaraw attack with 11 points followed by Arvin Tolentino and Hubert Cani with 10 markers each.
Jerom Lastimosa was the lone Adamson player in double digits with 11 points with Jonathan Espeleta and Kristian Bernardo finishing with eight points apiece.
Earlier in the day, the already-eliminated National University Bulldogs and University of the East Red Warriors ended their Season 81 campaign with the former winning, 79-71.
The Bulldogs relied on a strong opening half and bucked a spirited effort from the Warriors the rest of the way to finish their campaign on a winning note after dropping their previous four games.
NU, which finished the season with a 4-10 record, good for seventh place, was led by graduating player Troy Rike with 17 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
Big man Issa Gaye had 12 points and eight blocks with Shaun and Dave Ildefonso each having nine points.
UE (1-13) was once again led by league leading scorer Alvin Pasaol with 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds followed by Chris Conner with 19 points.
Graduating Warrior Jason Varilla had 10 points in his final UAAP game.
Finishing the season with a win, NU coach Jamike Jarin said it was a “nice feeling” but that they would have wanted to advance to the next round instead.
Nonetheless they vowed to continue working hard to have a better finish next season.
NU PEP SQUAD CHAMPION ANEW
Meanwhile, the NU Pep Squad returned to the top of the cheerdance competition after claiming the Season 81 title on Saturday.
Showcasing a Dia de los Muertos-themed performance, inspired by the movie Coco, the Sampaloc-based pep squad defeated the rest of the field after falling short of a fifth straight title last season.
NU got a total score of 711 points, head and shoulders above the chasing pack.
The FEU Cheering Squad placed second with 655.5 points followed by the Adamson Pep Squad, last season’s champion, with 638.5 points.
The University of Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe was fourth (638 points), the UE Pep Squad is fifth (602.5), the UP Pep Squad sixth (568.5), the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion seventh (558), and De La Salle Animo Squad eighth (459.5).
With the championship, NU raised its total title to five, good for solo third all-time. UP and UST still have the most titles with eight each.

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