By NIKOLE JAVIER
Xyrus Torres shone brightly as Far Eastern University recovered from a slow start to take its third straight win at the expense of University of the East, 75-68, in the second round of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Torres tallied 22 points apart from five steals to help the Tamaraws exact revenge over the Red Warriors who snapped their 15-game losing streak in the first round against them last Oct 5.
FEU erupted with a huge second half including a 21-9 third-quarter finish that saw them take the lead for the first time courtesy of Torres’ triple followed by a layup, 47-45.
The Tamaraws went blank from the field in the opening frame as the Red Warriors raced to an early 12-0 lead until Torres fired a three-pointer to get themselves started in the contest after three minutes of play.
UE continued to ride its momentum which led to a 15-point lead. However, FEU managed to trim down the deficit to just eight heading into the second half with another Torres triple, 34-42.
With 2:06 to go in the third frame, Cj Payawal launched a triple before Kyle Paranada split his free throws to pull UE within one.
However, Torres, who finished on 6-of-12 shooting from outside, fired another from the corner to put FEU up by four, 51-55.
With FEU finding its tempo, the Morayta-based dribblers struck hard for a 13-0 run this time to gain a 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
Crawling back into the game, Gani Stevens scored back-to-back layups before Nikko Paranada unleashed a triple followed by a huge and-1 play as they trailed by four, 63-67 with 2:18 to go.
With the win already in sight, Patrick Tchuente then soared for back-to-back layups to extend FEU’s lead to eight as they continued the assault until the final seconds.
"My players stuck to the game plan. Nagkaproblema lang in the start but our zone helped us but it was our team defense that really gave us that win," said FEU coach Olsen Racela. “Of course, we're trying to ride in that momentum that we had in the first round.”
Nikko tallied 21 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Stevens added 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 clip from the field with nine rebounds.
The scores:
FEU 75 -- Torres 22, Gonzales 14, Tchuente 13, Sajonia 6, Anonuevo 5, Sleat 4, Bautista 4, Bagunu 3, Tempra 2, Celzo 2, Alforque 0, Sandagon 0.
UE 68 -- N. Paranada 21, Stevens 13, Villegas 13, Payawal 9, K. Paranada 6, Sawat 4, Pagsanjan 2, Remogat 0, Alcantara 0, Guevarra 0, Antiporda 0, Beltran 0.
Quarters: 8-23, 34-42, 55-51, 75-68.