ANTIPOLO — L-Jay Gonzales showed the way as Far Eastern University waylaid La Salle, 81-60, to move to solo fourth place in the UAAP Season 82 men's basketball tournament on Saturday at Ynares Center here.
The sophomore guard was in control for the Tamaraws for the whole game, pouring 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals to bounce back after its 65-55 loss to Ateneo last week.
FEU improved to a 6-6 record, behind Ateneo at 11-0, University of the Philippines at 6-4 and University of Sto. Tomas at 7-5.
Gonzales ignited the Tamaraws' hot start, taking a 27-11 lead and continued to pound on the Green Archers, leading by as many as 22 points in the second half.
"We needed this win badly," said coach Olsen Racela. "Our mentality was to treat this game as a do-or-die. Ganoon ang aming sense of urgency, to play possession-by-possession and not worry how well we did or how bad we did after one possession but move on to the next."
Ken Tuffin also added 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from threes, to go with five rebounds.
Wendell Comboy got 12 points, seven boards and two assists, as Xyrus Torres scored 11 points built on three triples, on top of his two rebounds.
FEU shot on an efficient 54-percent from the field as it also dished out 19 assists, 12 of which came from Gonzales and Alec Stockton.
Justine Baltazar paced La Salle with 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists, while Jamie Malonzo got 13 points, seven boards, two dimes and two steals.
The Green Archers slid down to fifth place with a 5-6 card.
The scores:
FEU 81 - Gonzales 14, Tuffin 14, Comboy 12, Torres 11, Tchuente 8, Stockton 7, Ebona 6, Cani 5, Alforque 2, Tempra 2, Bayquin 0, Bienes 0, Dulatre 0, Mantua 0, Nunag 0.
La Salle 60 - Baltazar 16, Malonzo 13, Serrano 9, Melecio 7, Caracut 5, Manuel 3, Bartlett 2, Cu 2, Lim 2, Escandor 1, Bates 0, Hill 0, Lojera 0.
Quarterscores: 27-11; 40-29; 57-42; 81-60.
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