The Far Eastern University Tamaraws kept their final four hopes alive after stunning the De La Salle University Green Archers, 84-83, in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Kirby Mongcopa didn’t sweat when he drained a go-ahead layup from Janrey Pasaol, which sealed the deal for the Tamaraws. The Green Archers missed three attempts before the Mongcopa layup. Jacob Cortez missed the first two attempts, as EJ Gollena also missed his attempt.

On the defense, Mongcopa blocked Cortez’s drive to the basket with 15 seconds remaining, giving La Salle one last opportunity to win the match. Fortunately for the Tamaraws, JC Macalalag missed his three-point attempt that ultimately gave the Tamaraws their fifth victory.

“We are super grateful to just be in this stage and be able to be in this place. We also wanna say La Salle is a championship team, and when I left the house today, I kept saying to myself we have to beat one of the big teams this tournament in order for us to finally arrive,” said Tamaraws head coach Sean Chambers.

Pasaol led the Tamaraws with 17 points and seven assists, while Mo Konateh added 14 points and nine rebounds. Joric Bautista contributed 12 points, while Mongcopa finished the game with a double-double performance of 10 points and 10 rebounds, with seven assists. Jed Daa had 10 points and six rebounds.

For the Green Archers, Earl Abadam led the team with 18 points, while Macalalag contributed 14 points and five assists. Mike Phillips scored 14 points and tallied 19 rebounds, while Luis Pablo added 11 points. Cortez had 10 points and six assists.

Later that day, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons officially clinched a spot in the final four after defeating the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, 70-65.

Ahead by just two in the fourth quarter, 58-56, Gerry Abadiano and Reyland Torres scored seven points to widen their lead, 65-57. Since then, the defending champions have not looked back and secured a spot in the final four.

“Every time na may na-a-achieve kaming goal, siyempre masaya kami for that, but understanding that it’s just part of the journey. For the team, I believe we started out well, but we need to learn to try to finish off ‘yung inumpisahan namin every game,” said Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde.

Francis Nnoruka led the Fighting Maroons with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Abadiano contributed 16 points.

For the Soaring Falcons, Ray Torres led the team with 23 points, while John Erolon contributed 19 points.

1

For the first time this season, the De La Salle University Green Archers suffered back-to-back losses against the National University Bulldogs and the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, which led to their slump in the standings with a 6-5 record.

It was also the last time the Tamaraws defeated the Green Archers under their head coach, Topex Robinson. The last time that Tamaraws defeated the Green Archers was on November 2, 2022.

However, for Robinson, his team will still do their best despite the absence of Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan due to knee injuries. Vhoris Marasigan served his one-game suspension in their match against the Tamaraws, while Gian Gomez and Lebron Jhames Daep were sick during the match.

“Obviously, we’re depleted right now. We’re still gonna look at how we’re gonna battle our way through without Mason and Kean. Gian and LeBron Jhames are both sick right now, kaya naubos kami. Wala pa si Vhoris, but again, those things are opportunities for others as well. We’re just gonna look at the positives,” Robinson said.

“Games like these have really been challenging for us, but again, we cannot offer any excuses right now. We still have a grip on our fate and our future, so we’re gonna stick to the positives.”

Despite being on the verge of not qualifying for the final four, Robinson added that negativity doesn’t have a part in his team.

“As soon as we were complete (after the game), we said our prayers and I just told them that we’ll see each other tomorrow. At this point, we cannot be negative about those things because you have to support your players,” he said.

“We’re depleted, so I cannot afford to lose the players just because of a bad game. Nobody wants to lose that game, so we’re gonna move forward. The thing we’re gonna do right now is look for things that we did wrong, and then move forward, and how we’re gonna grow.”

5

The quintet of graduating Fighting Maroons — Gerry Abadiano, Harold Alarcon, Terrence Fortea, Reyland Torres, and Janjan Felicilda — collectively known as the Maroon 5, only have one goal in mind: back-to-back championships to end their collegiate career.

Although they are already qualified for the semifinals, Abadiano reminded the team that their goal is not yet over until they successfully defend their title.

“Malaking bagay lalo na sa amin na graduating kasi ang goal talaga namin ay makapasok sa Final Four, makuha ‘yung championship,” he said. “Hindi kami puwedeng makampante, marami pa kaming kailangan i-improve. Papasok ng Final Four and last two games namin, alam namin na magiging mahirap ‘yun, hindi magiging madali ‘yun, so harapin lang namin nang maayos ‘yun and respond lang sa mga challenges na ibibigay sa amin every game. Huwag lang kami makampante and continue lang kami sa pag-work.”

Like Abadiano, Torres remained motivated now that they are a step closer to defending their crown.

“Siguro sobrang eager kasi last year na namin, gustong-gusto namin makuha una ‘yung Final Four saka ‘yung championship. Final year na, wala nang balikan, wala nang bawian, so give na lang namin lahat ng best namin,” he ended.