Tamaraws clash with slumping Tigers; Adamson, UE collide

League leaders FEU and Adamson University try to solidify their hold of the top two spots when they face separate opponents today in the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.

Comfortably perched atop the standings with an 8-1 mark, the Tamaraws hope to repeat over the slumping University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the 4 p.m. main game while the second-running Falcons stake their 7-2 record against the unpredictable University of the East (UE) at 2 p.m.

The Tamaraws and the Falcons are coming off hard-fought victories in their previous assignments with both teams needing five extra minutes or so to dispose their upset-conscious foes.

Utilizing its depth and experience to the hilt, FEU outplayed UE in the crucial stretches before hacking out a decisive 83-77 overtime win that restored the Tamaraws’ pride after an ego-deflating 63-64 loss against Adamson, which stained their erstwhile immaculate record early in the second round.

The Falcons battled the Tigers in a grueling double-overtime match-up before pulling off an 81-76 humdinger that sent UST reeling to its fourth straight loss. Adamson prevailed behind the game-long heroics of Janus Lozada, who fired a career-high 19 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point distance, including a key triple in the finals 3.8 seconds to force the second extra session.

Against the Tigers, the Tamaraws enjoy a more offensively reliable frontline despite the absence of big man Riel Cervantes, who was slapped a one-game suspension for committing an unsportsmanlike foul against Paul Lee late in the overtime period of their highly physical encounter.

With Cervantes in the freezer, veterans Aldrech Ramos and Pippo Noundou are expected to burn more minutes defending the paint against the virtually non-existent UST inside game while getting occasional relief from rookie enforcers Mark Bringas and Carl Cruz.

UST abandoned in several instances its ineffective three-point shooting against Adamson by slashing to the basket and hitting medium-range jumpers off the pick.

RR Garcia will again be a marked man for the Tigers who will likely tap Jerick Fortuna and Clark Bautista as designated stoppers of the league’s most explosive scorer thus far.

The dipping performance of Jeric Fortuna at this stage has been a major concern for UST with the Season 72 Rookie of the Year hardly pitching his usual numbers in the Tigers’ last four losses.

Adamson again seeks to squeeze out the best from main man Alex Nuyles, Eric Camson, Jan Colina and chief playmaker Lester Alvarez against the Warriors who will be bannered by Lee, Ken Acibar, Raphy Reyes and James Martinez.

Anthony Divinagracia, UAAP Sprots