Star-less FEU shows a lot of spunk in their PCCL win over San Beda

FEU shows a lot of spunk in their PCCL win over San Beda

 by rick olivares

When it was announced that Terrence Romeo was joining the PBA Draft, the question that followed was, “How will FEU fare next season?”

The answer, in case you have not watched the Tamaraws in this PCCL is that, the kids are all right.

No RR Garcia. No Terrence Romeo. No Mark Belo (who is with the Sinag team in the Myanmar SEA Games). No problem.

These Tamaraws are fun to watch.

They play with spunk and an energy that they have not shown in a while. They hustle for the ball and play hard.  Even Anthony Hargrove who was mostly listless last season is playing at a much higher rate that would have logically followed after his UAAP debut two years ago.

When members of this trade traded fists with one another right before the Final Four, they were doomed.

This team simply wasn’t on the same page. Players went to games in separate vehicles. Players formed clicks. People didn’t care that the ring in the FEU gym was tilted at an odd angle. Some didn’t even take practice seriously.

The coaching staff of Nash Racela finally eased the last vestige of the malaise and star-system that was in place out. Yet despite everything, they nearly had a chance to win it all in the UAAP.

Now in the PCCL, the holdovers are playing great and fun basketball. The ball moves around (finally) and players have stepped up. This is Mike Tolomia’s time to shine. Mac Belo is showing a talent that should serve him well in the pros. Gryann Mendoza is rounding out into a sound all-around do-it-all forward. And Anthony Hargrove is dunking and dishing off no look passes that have been unseen in these parts since Mark Barroca was in uniform. And there’s Achie Iñigo and Joel Lee Yu who are rising to the occasion (Cedrick Labing-Isa pay attention).

Against NCAA champion San Beda, the Tams fell into an early hole but patiently worked their way back with Tolomia driving to the basket and Mendoza nailing a key jumper to forge a 14-all tie after 10 minutes.

FEU went down 30-24 at the half but by the third quarter, Tolomia showed the way by scoring on three consecutive layups on two Red Lions including center Ola Adeogun who had come out to help although to no avail.

They played all hands on deck and were rewarded with a 62-56 win despite giving up more turnovers (18-11) and awarded fewer free throws (12 to the 18 of SBC). How did they get the way? By being aggressive on the ball. They attacked the basket and got high percentage shots.

FEU’s guards outplayed their Bedan counterparts. The trio of Tolomia, Iñigo, and Lee combined for 33 points while Baser Amer, Francis Abarcar, Ryusei Koga and Yvan Ludovice, and Dan Sara pooled for 17 points.

It was Art dela Cruz who carried San Beda in the fourth period as he did not get enough support from his teammates.

Raymar Jose continued to show a lot of promise while battling Adeogun in the post.

In the first half, Hargrove dished off two beautiful no look passes to teammates for wide-open baskets. In the fourth period, it was his teammates’ turn to assist him when Tolomia threaded a pass in the middle of the lane to Hargrove who was by himself inside. The second year FEU center two handed stuff at the 2:19 mark for a 61-55 lead that answered Anthony Semerad’s three-pointer.

FEU’s defense held in the game’s final minutes for a huge win. It was a huge win as they were without Belo and coaches Racela and Josh Reyes for this game.