26
Philippine Showbiz Today
SPORTS
Far Eastern University
survived the best University
of Santo Tomas can offer
in a Game Three thriller,
pulling off a 67-62 victory
on Wednesday to end a
decade-long title drought
in the UAAP men’s
basketball tournament.
Mac Belo scored
23 points while Roger
Pogoy led a courageous,
last-ditch push for the
Tamaraws, who blew a
10-point lead after a long
scoring drought bridging
the third and fourth
quarters battled back from
a six-point endgame deficit
before a crowd of over
23,000 fans at the Mall of
Asia Arena.
By taking the best-
of-three series 2-1, the
Tamaraws won a league-
record 20th championship
while ending a drought
that started after Arwind
Santos and Co. won the
last of consecutive titles in
2005.
This deep, talent-laden
batch of Tamaraws also
gave Nash Racela his first
major championship as a
head coach while atoning
for a heartbreaking loss to
National University in last
year’s finals.
December 8 - 21, 2015
FEU Tamaraws win fi rst UAAP
title in a decade
None of that would’ve
been possible without
Belo, who, after ending
Ateneo’s hopes in the Final
Four with a follow-up at
the buzzer, presided over
a Tamaraws rampage that
denied UST its first league
title since 2006.
Belo was later named
Finals MVP.
The former national
player capped his game-
long brilliance with the
free throw that hiked
FEU’s lead to 65-62 with
18.2 seconds to go before
scooting back on defense
to block a layup by UST
guard Ed Daquioag.
That set up Russell where confetti and multi-
Escoto for the two title- colored balloons fell from
the catwalk.
However,
the
Tamaraws wouldn’t have
been in a position to steal
the win if not for Pogoy, a
deadly Cebuano who led
FEU back from a 51-57
deficit by hitting a coast-
to-coast drive and a clutch
three-pointer, 61-60, with
1:27 minutes to go.
Pogoy added 14
points for the Tamaraws
while Mike Tolomia made
up for his 0-of-15 shooting
clinching free throws, performance in the Game
triggering wild celebration Two loss by scoring 13
on FEU’s side of the arena points and dishing off
three assists.
In all, FEU outscored
UST in the final 3:25, 14-
3.
The Tigers never
recovered after that as
top gun Kevin Ferrer,
who scored 24 points in
one quarter in the team’s
Game Two win, turned
gun-shy with just six points
on seven attempts.
With Ferrer turning
silent, senior guard Ed
Daquioag and rookie
Marvin Lee took it upon
themselves to take charge
for UST, combining in
a 16-0 run bridging the
third and fourth quarters
that put the Tigers on top,
57-51, with 5:03 minutes
remaining.
The scores:
FEU: 67 - Belo 23, Pogoy
14, Tolomia 13, Tamsi
6, Ru. Escoto 5, Inigo 3,
Jose 2, Orizu 1, Dennison
0, Arong 0, Ri. Escoto 0,
Trinidad 0.
UST: 62 - Daquioag 21,
Abdul 12, Lee 9, Ferrer 6,
Vigil 6, Lao 6, Bonleon 2,
Sheriff 0,Faundo 0,Huang
0.
Quarterscores: 18-19; 30-
30; 51-46; 67-62.•
- R. Terrado, spin.ph
Salud steps down as PBA President
Former
PBA
Commissioner
Chito
Salud is stepping down
as the league’s first
President and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO)
after he tendering his
resignation effective at
the end of the month.
In a text message sent
out to media outlets, the
53-year-old Salud said
in a statement that the
league’s “organizational
structure” is already in
place, which the board
has envisioned.
“I have formally and
respectfully signified my
intention to step down as
President/CEO of the PBA
effective at the end of Dec
2015,” said Salud, son of
the late PBA chief Rudy
Salud who took over as
the eighth commissioner
of the PBA back in 2010.
“The organizational
structure of PBA as we
have envisaged is already
in place,” added Salud.
Aside from that, Salud
said that the “handover to
the new Commissioner has
been smoothly executed”
referring to Chito Narvasa,
whom the board approved
late last season as his
Chito Salud
successor.
Salud also expressed
confidence
that
the
league will continue its
improvement particularly
with San Miguel Beer’s
Robert Non serving a
chairman – the second
time he has handled the
position.
“The Board under
Chairm an
Non’s
leadership continues to
be as it is – a source of
strength, stability and
continuity as the PBA
charts its way forward,”
he said.
“It is for these reasons
that I believe the time is
right for me to move on,
confident as I am that I
have already made my
modest contributions to
the critical transition into
this current PBA season,”
he added.
The PBA restructured
its look with a more
corporate style by forming
a President/CEO position
for Salud to take care
of the league’s business
side while Narvasa will
handle all game related
activities.
- W. Galves, MB