By NIKOLE JAVIER
Sean Torculas made his extended minutes count as University of the Philippines eliminated Far Eastern University, 81-64, in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Torculas delivered a career-high 13 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the inside and 5-of-8 overall from the field in a performance that earned him the desired attention.
With the win, the Maroons hiked their slate to 10-2, boosting their bid for one of the two coveted twice-to-beat armors.
Another rookie Francis Lopez flirted with a double-double performance with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Harold Alarcon added 11 markers.
FEU dropped to 3-9, thus kissing its semis bid goodbye for the second straight season.
The Fighting Maroons jumped to its biggest lead of 66-47 early in the closing period on a Chico Briones jumper.
Although the Tamaraws managed to trim the deficit to just 11, 70-59, on two L-Jay Gonzales free throws made, the climb proved to be tough.
With over a minute to go, though, UP went on a telling 7-0 run capped by Lopez from beyond the arc at the 1:34 mark.
Despite FEU’s last-gasp fightback, the clock ran out before they could change their fate.
“’Yon ‘yong goal (twice-to-beat advantage). Tulad ng sinabi ko last time, we’re just taking one practice and one game at a time. We know what’s at stake. Last game it clinched the Final Four spot for us. Now it’s another goal. Si coach Goldwin (Monteverde) nire-remind lang mga players to keep pounding. Even though we kept pounding, that’s how the game went nung first half, we addressed that we won’t get it in one home run,” said UP assistant coach Christian Luanzon.
Graduating guard Gonzales led all scorers with 20 points in the losing end, while Jorick Bautista had 17 points.
The scores:
UP 81 – Torculas 13, Lopez 12, Alarcon 11, Briones 9, Cagulangan 7, Diouf 6, Felicilda 4, Pablo 4, Abadiano 4, Gonzales 4, Torres 3, Cansino 2, Gagate 2, Alter 0, Belmonte 0.
FEU 64 – Gonzales 20, Bautista 17, Sleat 8, Torres 8, Faty 6, Tempra 3, Ona 2, Bagunu 0, Montemayor 0, Buenaventura 0, Felipe 0, Competente 0.
Quarters: 16-13, 34-27, 60-47, 81-64.
