WHETHER you're a doubter or whether you're a believer, Far Eastern U's stayin' alive in UAAP Season 88.
The Tamaraws dug deep once more and evaded elimination by escaping winless University of the East with an 84-77 decision on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Janrey Pasaol delivered the key baskets for FEU with his split in the final 1:22 giving the green-and-gold the 10-point lead, 82-72.
But the Red Warriors kept on chipping, with Wello Lingolingo and Precious Momowei pulling them within five and even forced a shot clock violation with 16 seconds left.
Unfortunately, Dray Caoile airballed his trey from way out that took the air out of the sails of the Recto squad.
"That is one of the most difficult games to coach," remarked coach Sean Chambers, relieved to survive this game challenge from a red-and-white team that basically had nothing to lose.
"We're continuing to battle in practice and kept on believing that we still have the chance. I'm grateful of this journey and we put ourselves in a chance that... who would have thought, right, with such a young team?"
Jorick Bautista drilled three treys for 17 points, six assists, and three rebounds, Mo Konateh added 15 points and eight boards, and Kirby Mongcopa got 14 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists to keep the Tamaraws in contention in this tight Final Four race with their 6-7 record.
Pasaol then wound up with 12 points, six assists, and four steals, and one-and-done Neil Owens finally showed his worth with 10 points from three three-pointers that went with three rebounds and three dimes.
FEU takes care of business
Winners of two straight games, FEU has its fate firmly in its hands approaching its last assignment against University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday.
Chambers also eclipsed last season's win total with this sixth victory, while sharing that he fully expected his wards to still be in the mix with the league's best despite their youth.
"Once we corrected on some things, we knew we had the makings to compete even if we're one of the youngest teams in the UAAP. We just had to believe that we can," he said.
UE, meanwhile, ended its horror first year under coach Chris Gavina at 0-14, becoming the eighth team to go winless in the Final Four era and suffering its 20th straight loss dating back to last season.
Momowei put up another double-double in vain, ending up with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and four steals, as Lingolingo contributed 14 points and four boards.
The Scores:
FEU 84 - Bautista 17, Konateh 15, Mongcopa 14, Pasaol 12, Owens 10, Felipe 7, Daa 5, Jones 2, Ona 2, Montemayor 0, Bagunu 0, Macapagal 0.
UE 77 - Momowei 19, Lingolingo 14, Caoile 10, Mulingtapang 10, Cruz-Dumont 8, Despi 6, Robles 5, Datumalim 3, Malaga 2, Tanedo 0, Lagat 0, Jimenez 0, Rosete 0.
Quarters: 22-15, 42-32, 61-51, 84-77.
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