L-Jay Gonzales sank the buzzer-beating triple to give Far Eastern University another upset win over defending champion Ateneo, 62-59, in the second round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Tamaraws held on to the win until the final buzzer thanks to Gonzales’ late-game heroics to improve 3-5 in the standings. 

Gonzales was a rebound shy for a double-double finish, but scattered an all-around brilliance of 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals including a 3-of-5 shooting from outside. 

FEU squandered a 57-47 lead in the closing period with less than five minutes left as Ateneo found its rhythm for a 9-0 counter to trim down its deficit to just one. 

With under a minute to go, Gonzales drove up against three blue shirts for a layup to stay ahead, 59-56, before forcing a turnover on Sean Quitevis on the other end of the floor. 

However, Mason Amos came through for Ateneo with a three-pointer to put the match at a deadlock of 59-all. 

After forcing each other to commit turnovers with the little time left, FEU finally had the last possession with 3.9 seconds in the game when Gonzales drilled in the game-winner three-pointer to avert going into overtime. 

In their first-round encounter, the Tamaraws forced the Blue Eagles into extra time, where they managed to come out on top for their first win against the latter since 2018. 

This time, though, Gonzales only needed the regulation to bring FEU to the victory as it bounced back from its 68-62 defeat against University of Santo Tomas last week. 

Chris Koon and Amos led the way for the Blue Eagles with 14 and 11 points, respectively, as they absorbed an even 4-4 record.