THE Far Eastern University Tamaraws played a very sharp game.
And this is what the Ateneo Blue Eagles will try to figure out after they lost to the Tams in their Final Four semifinal showdown last Sunday in the 80th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.
“Forget the regular season, whatever it means. This is playoff basketball. And they (Tamaraws) were sharper on both ends. I have to figure out why they won,” said coach Tab Baldwin after the Tamaraws overpowered the Blue Eagles, 80-67, at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles will now have a rubber match with the Tams on Wednesday.
On Sunday, the Tams shot 49.27 percent on their field goals, with guard Ron Dennison firing 17 points, including 3 of 8 three point attempts.
On the other hand, the Blue Eagles had a 36.62 percent clip and were held to just 13 points in the third period.
Two of Dennison’s treys came at the start of the second half, with the first breaking a 38-all deadlock in the remaining 8:26.
His second triple second handed FEU a 48-40 spread, with 5:47 to go.
FEU was slightly ahead in the first two quarters, taking the first half, 38-25.
Thirdy Ravena shot 17 points, but was held to just four in the second period.
Baldwin admitted that the team’s confidence went down in the second half and this happened after members of the team missed open shots in the first half.
“Right now, we haven’t done anything yet. Ang nakuha lang namin, we took away the twice-to-beat advantage of Ateneo. We look forward to Wednesday’s game, and see what we can do to really stop a strong team like Ateneo,” said Tams’ coach Olsen Racela.