Far Eastern University stunned Ateneo de Manila University to post their first win of the year.
The Tamaraws defeated the Blue Eagles in overtime, 66-61, Saturday afternoon at the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
L-Jay Gonzales starred for FEU with 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two clutch jumpers to help his squad clinch their first win over the Ateneans since 2018.
Xyrus Torres also finished in double digits with 13 markers alongside two rebounds and an assist, while Patrick Sleat contributed with nine.
Tied at 69 apiece, Gonzales took charge for the Morayta-based squad after converting back-to-back jumpers to create an important four-point lead with only 35.2 seconds remaining in the game.
Ateneo then failed to convert in their next possession, resulting in them fouling Torres who finally sealed FEU’s first win in five games after he went perfect in his trip to the charity stripe.
In regulation, after trailing by 15, 52-37, early in the final frame, the Blue Eagles went on a late run to get as close as one, 55-56, following a three-pointer by Ian Espinosa and a lay-in by Jared Brown with under a minute left in the game.
Chris Koon then went on to tie the game at 57 apiece after Mo Faty went 1-out-of-2 from the foul line in the earlier play.
“Ang ganda ng panalo namin kasi total team effort, coaching staff, players, management tulong tulong kami para makapanalo kami at least isa. Alam namin sa sarili namin bound to win na kami nung past games eh,” said Tamaraws head coach Denok Miranda, who finally tallied his first win as a coach in the league.
Meanwhile, Brown finished with 18 points and two rebounds, while Kai Ballungay posted 12 markers and seven boards, but it all went for naught as they fell to 2-3 in the standings.
The Scores:
FEU 66 - Gonzales 21, Torres 13, Sleat 9, Tempra 8, Alforque 4, Bagunu 4, Competente 4, Ona 2, Faty 1, Bautista 0, Buenaventura 0, Montemayor 0, Felipe 0.
Ateneo 61 - Brown 18, Ballungay 12, Espinosa 8, Koon 8, Nieto 3, Credo 2, Obasa 2, Gomez 2, Bongo 2, Lazaro 2, Amos 2, Tuano 0, Chiu 0.
Quarterscores: 11-13, 30-26, 45-37, 57-57, 66-61