FAR Eastern University continued to make up for its UAAP Season 89-opening blunder after waxing hot in a well-earned 90-78 win against La Salle on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws as a whole shot an uber-efficient 50-percent from the field, leading by as much as 19 in the game.
Leading their rout over the defending champions were Kirby Mongcopa and Cabs Cabonilas, who delivered 20 and 17 points, respectively.
FEU's fast start
The green-and-gold's momentum arrived early in the first quarter, where Luke Felipe and Fil-Am rookie Elias Gish—who had two triples each—flanked reigning MVP Janrey Pasaol’s five points en route to their 25-13 first quarter splash on the Green Archers, much to the delight of head coach Sean Chambers.
“The maturity of the young guys is the ideal of building a program,” he said. “The young guys executed when these guys got in trouble because Kirby, Mo [Konateh], Jedric [Daa], and Janrey spent a long time in the second quarter. So the fact that they held that lead was important too.”
Fronting FEU's overall romp over La Salle, however, was Mongcopa, who imposed his master class in the third quarter, going on a 13-point burner after sitting out most of the first half due to foul trouble.
Cabonilas then served as potent spark plug, as he also chipped in six boards.
With the win, the Tams forged a five-way logjam at No. 1 together with National U, the University of the Philippines, Ateneo, and University of Santo Tomas, all at 2-1.
The Green Archers stumbled for the second straight time following a win to open their title defense. Luis Pablo’s 15 points and seven rebounds led them, while Mason Amos and Doy Dungo had 10 apiece.
The Scores:
FEU 90 – Mongcopa 20, Cabonilas 17, Bautista 12, Konateh 10, Daa 10, Pasaol 7, Gish 6, Felipe 6, Hall 2, Burgos 0, Nakai 0, Rañeses 0.
LA SALLE 78 – Pablo 15, Amos 10, Dungo 10, Tovera 8, Macalalag 8, Abadam 8, Cortez 6, Agunanne 6, Daep 4, Gagate 3, Marasigan 0.
Quarters: 25-13, 52-38, 76-62, 90-78
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