JOE Trinidad and Raymar Jose teamed up to lift Far Eastern University over University of Santo Tomas, 79-72, on Saturday in the UAAP Season 79 basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws won their third straight game and improved its win-loss card to 4-2, gaining a share of second place with Ateneo and National University.
Trinidad had 17 points and five rebounds, while Jose tallied 16 and 10 for the Tamaraws.
FEU coach Nash Racela said the team made an effort to be better on offense after the Tamaraws scored only 51 points in a two-point victory over University of the Philippines last week.
“I felt UST played as tough on the defensive end. They really made it hard for us to score. Sa amin, it’s more of a test because we were coming off a 51-point output when we played UP. Our challenge today was to score more than 51,” Racela said.
Not only did the Tamaraws achieve their scoring target, they were in control most of the game and led by as many as 17 points.
Louie Vigil had 16 points, while Marvin Lee got 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists for the Growling Tigers, who absorbed their second straight defeat and fell to 2-4.
The scores:
FEU 79 — Trinidad 17, Jose 16, Arong 11, Orizu 9, Bayquin 5, Holmqvist 4, Denila 4, Tuffin 3, Ebona 3, Nunag 3, Roxas 3, Comboy 1, Bienes 0.
UST 72 — Vigil 16, Lee 13, Basibas 11, Sheriff 8, Subido 7, Macasaet 6, Faundo 6, Huang 3, Lao 2, Tateishi 0, Caunan 0, Afoakwah 0, De Guzman 0.
Quarterscores: 22-14; 42-29; 65-50; 79-72.