FEU-DILIMAN avoided a repeat of last week’s heartbreak, as it gutted out a 90-89 triumph over Ateneo in a cardiac semifinal duel in the UAAP Season 88 boys' basketball tournament.
JB Cagurungan caught fire late, scoring the last 13 points for the Baby Tamaraws - including the go-ahead triple that shot them back into the finals.
Down by a single point with under a minute remaining, presumptive MVP Cabs Cabonillas missed a hook shot for FEU-D. At the other end, Ateneo's Best Foreign Student-Athlete award winner in Jude Eriobu was denied underneath, as Cabonillas recovered the loose ball and pushed it back to their side.
He swung the ball to Marc Burgos at the top of the key, who then found the red-hot Cagurungan on the wing before the latter calmly converted the go-ahead three over the outstretched arms of Zane Kallos.
Cagurungan finished with 27 points on blistering 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, along with five rebounds.
“Our goal was just to keep getting better. We played well nung twice-to-beat game. We just told the players that the Final Four game will be really, really harder, which exactly happened,” said first-year head coach Mike Reyes, as the green-and-gold ultimately prevailed in the week-long series between the two teams.
Last Sunday, the Blue Eagles downed the Baby Tams to force tie at 10-4 and a playoff for the second seed.
“The mistakes of that game, 'di na nangyari today eh. The mistakes of that game, we had possessions na we took bad shots, three or four bad shots consecutive. We didn’t do it today,” Reyes said.
Then last Wednesday, FEU-D put on a 37-point beatdown on Ateneo to seize the twice-to-beat advantage, which as it turned out, the former didn't even need.
Khean Esperanza also delivered a solid outing with 18 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Burgos added 15 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
Eriobu ends domminant debut year
On the other side, Eriobu posted another monster double-double of 36 points and 22 rebounds to go with three steals. He pounded in 20 points in the first half alone, creating constant problems for the Baby Tamaraws.
But according to Reyes, that was exactly part of the plan.
“The main game plan was, let Eriobu score 35. Let’s limit the locals, yun ang game plan,” he revealed. “So we gave that to Eriobu, pero yun yung plano - must stop yung locals.”
The strategy nearly worked to perfection for the Baby Tamaraws until Banal caught fire late, finishing with 25 points, two steals, two rebounds, and two assists for the Blue Eagles.
The Scores:
FEU-D 90 - Cagurungan 27, Esperanza 18, Burgos 15, Cabonilas 7, Rañeses 6, Sohm 6, Gaye 4, Santos 4, Alagaban 3, Hall 0, Dulin 0, Dagcutan 0, Cariño 0, Enriquez 0.
ATENEO 89 - Eriobu 36, Banal 25, Tamayo 12, Kallos 6, Espinas 5, Leal 3, Madrangca 1, Gatmaitan 1, Kaw 0.
Quarters: 21-13, 36-42, 66-64, 90-89.
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