The long summer tournament is almost over and it's going to be a UAAP team vs an NCAA team for the title. FEU vs. San Sebastian.
Both had to scrap their way to the title with FEU's amazing RR Garcia scoring 10 points in the final minutes of play to put away the Adamson Falcons while the Stags dispatched JRU in similar fashion.
The Falcons collapse' began when they gave up their (was it a seven-point) lead in the fourth quarter. And come OT, they started out with a misplay when Jan Colina failed to field an inside pass by Eric Camson (after the former sealed himself inside for what should have been an easy bucket). With desperation setting in, Alex Nuyles decided to take the game into his own hands and would drive inside instead of finding the open man (Lester Alvarez). Whatever streak shooting they had when they disposed of Ateneo deserted them this time around. They failed grab a couple of lose boards (one that Pippo Noundou put back for a bucket) that FEU parlayed into an extra possession. And when time was running down on the Tamaraws, it was Garcia who would hit the clutch shot.
As for the Stags, how they reached the title match is even more compelling. They have not played with a full crew all throughout. One time, they even had only 10 players dressed up (but they still won). With Dave Najorda and Ian Sangalang (who will still make it in time for the NCAA tourney) out, they never let up on their high energy game. Said the Stags' Jonathan Semira after the game, "That's us.We always try to outwork and outhustle everyone."
The problem for the Heavy Bombers is they tend to put the ball in the wrong hands when they need to make a bucket. Save for Alex Almario who tries to push the ball up as quickly as he can the others have a bad tendency to squander precious seconds off the shot clock then decide to make a move with time running down? How many shots did they take under time pressure? I stopped counting at six. Even John Njei's failure to get off a quick shot towards the end of overtime said something about their shot clock management. But one thing is clear, in their last couple of games, Joe Etame is clutch for this team. Give the ball to the big man down the post and not way up high. Joe had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. He played 23 minutes only and had 2 fouls. I noticed in all their games why the coaching staff is holding him back. Hmm.
But the Heavy Bombers could not match the Stags' energy. Led by Calvin Abueva who had 14 points and 14 boards, the Stags pounded JRU mercilessly from the inside. Gilbert Bulawan added 14 points of his own while Ronald Pascual had 13.
JRU scored 31 points inside but poor production from their guards killed their chances.
Anyways, the championship is this Sunday at 4pm at the Arena in San Juan.
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