THE defending champion Far Eastern University Tamaraws will face a bigger test at the end of the first round of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The team’s character will be put on trial again when they meet the National University Bulldogs at 4 p.m.
FEU coach Nash Racela said the Bulldogs will provide a big challenge after they got past the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 79-72, last Saturday in the UAAP Season 79 basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
So far, the Tamaraws have won their third straight game and improved their win-loss card to 4-2.
They are in a share of second place with Ateneo and the NU Bulldogs.
Earlier, Adamson (3-3) seeks to bounce back from their loss to the University of the East Warriors in their 2 p.m. match with UST.
The NU Bulldogs, led by Matt Salem with a career-high 26 points that pushed them to an 80-69 win over University of the Philippines, are expected to make it tough for FEU.
The Bulldogs’ backcourt of Rev Diputado, JV Gallego, and J-Jay Alejandro are expected to provide headaches for FEU.
The last time around, Jojo Trinidad had 17 points and five rebounds, while Reymar Jose tallied 16 and 10 for the Tamaraws.
The Tamaraws will play with defensive specialist Ron Dennison back in action.
He was suspended for incurring a disqualifying foul in the UP game.
The Bulldogs enter the match against FEU, looking to score a follow-up to a big victories over UST and UP.
The last time around, it was the 23-year-old Trinidad who shone for FEU when he finished with a season-best 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three point range.
Games today
(at the MOA Arena)
2 p.m. Adamson vs UST
4 p.m. FEU vs NU