Far Eastern University had the biggest upset yet in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament, stunning Ateneo de Manila University 66-61 in overtime Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws were able to halt a four-game slide despite squandering a 39-54 lead in regulation.
It was the first time FEU defeated Ateneo since a 63-60 victory on October 10, 2018, ending an eight-game losing streak.
The Tamaraws finally pulled away thanks to the heroics of LJay Gonzales, who led the Tamaraws with 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
The fifth-year guard out of San Mateo, Isabela sunk back-to-back jumpers to shatter the game’s final deadlock at 59-59.
“Kanina, bad start ako kasi pinagalitan ako ni Coach Denok gusto pa kami murahin bago maglaro nang maayos,” said Gonzales. “Thankful din kami sa mga assistant coach and happy kami na nakuha namin ito. Ang dami naming lessons sa past games namin, siguro nadala namin dito.”
Xyrus Torres then iced the game with two free throws to give FEU a six-point cushion with over 23 seconds remaining in the added period.
Trailing by as much as 15 points, the Blue Eagles managed to level the ballgame to 57-57 thanks to baskets from Jared Brown, Chris Koon, Ian Espinosa, and Kai Ballungay with 31.4 seconds remaining in the game.
However, both teams failed to convert in the final seconds of regulation and Gonzales, Torres, and James Tempra provided the finishing touches in overtime.
“Ang ganda ng panalo namin kasi total team effort, coaching staff, players, management tulong tulong kami para makapanalo kami at least isa. Alam namin sa sarili namin bound to win na kami nung past games eh,” said Tamaraws head coach Denok Miranda, who notched his first-ever win in the UAAP collegiate division as coach.
Torres scored 13 points for the Tamaraws while Patrick Sleat contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Tempra had eight points and three assists.
FEU lost a 14-point lead in a defeat to University of the East last October 7, and this time around, there were no endgame meltdowns for the Tamaraws.
FEU’s bench provided 31 points for the team compared to Ateneo’s 19. The Tamaraws also had 26 inside points while the Blue Eagles only had 16.
The Tamaraws, who avoided a second straight 0-5 start, will look to build on this result against Adamson University this Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
On the other hand, Brown had his best game so far for Ateneo as he led the Blue Eagles with 18 points. Ballungay contributed 12 points and seven rebounds while Espinosa and Koon scored eight points each.
Ateneo’s Nigerian big man Joseph Obasa had 10 rebounds to go with his two points.
The Blue Eagles will seek to bounce back from this shocker when they face University of Santo Tomas also this Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The Scores:
FEU 66 – Gonzales 21, Torres 13, Sleat 9, Tempra 8, Alforque 4, Bagunu 4, Competente 4, Ona 2, Faty 1, Bautista 0, Buenaventura 0, Montemayor 0, Felipe 0.
Ateneo 61 – Brown 18, Ballungay 12, Espinosa 8, Koon 8, Nieto 3, Credo 2, Obasa 2, Gomez 2, Bongo 2, Lazaro 2, Amos 2, Tuano 0, Chiu 0.
Quarterscores: 11-13, 30-26, 45-37, 57-57, 66-61
