Another epic comeback by the Tamaraws. Another heroic effort from RR Garcia. This seems to be the script Far Eastern University (FEU) is following in its magical ride in the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL).
The Tamaraws took Game One of the best-of-three Finals, 75-70, against Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) on Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Garcia reprised his “savior” role as he unloaded 12 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth period to lead the FEU Tamraws to the come-from-behind win.
Playing decoy for the first 3 periods, Garcia exploded when it mattered the most, hitting 3 triples and 2 dagger treys to break the hearts of the UAAP back-to-back champion Ateneo Blue Eagles.
His last basket – a triple – in the last 2:03 mark gave the Tamaraws a 5-point cushion, 72-67, after starting the payoff period down by 6.
The Eagles never recovered, missing all their desperate 3-point attempts from then on. The Tamaraws iced the contest at the stripes to complete the comeback from several deficits that went as high as 12 points.
Garcia went 3-of-5 from long distance and added 8 rebounds and 5 assists in another sterling effort that drew raves from the Tamaraws’ coach Glenn Capacio.
“Kumpleto ang laro ni RR (Garcia). Matalino, ini-involve ang mga teammates niya at higit sa lahat, maganda ang attitude,” Capacio said of his prized guard from Zamboanga.
True enough, Garcia and 4 more other Tamaraws hit in double figures to underscore their collective effort to finally redeem themselves from a disappointing third place finish in the UAAP.
Paul Sanga pumped in 15 points while Reil Cervantes, who sprained his ankle midway in the third period, still wound up with 14 markers.
Pipo Noundou turned in a double-double effort of 12 points and 11 rebounds to fill up the slack of Smart Gilas standout Aldrech Ramos, who was out-of-sync with only a basket in 25 minutes. Another Smart Gilas player JR Cawaling chipped in 10 points to the Tamaraws’ well-balanced attack.
“After three years, nakikita ko na ang dapat kong makita. Magandang character ang nakikita ko ngayon sa team at sana tuloy-tuloy na,” said Capacio, who is in his third year with the team.
Outgoing senior Jai Reyes led the Eagles with 18 points, 12 coming in the first half but went cold in the closing minutes that hastened his team’s downfall.
The Eagles have only less than 24 hours to mount a comeback as Game 2 of t7he series will be played tomorrow (Thursday) 3:30 p.m. in the same venue.
Tickets are being sold for P200 at ringside while P50 at general admission. The games will be telecast live on Studio23 while replays will be aired on Balls Channel at 10 p.m.
The Scores:
FEU 75 – Garcia 22, Sanga 15, Cervantes 14, Noundou 12, Cawaling 10, Ramos 2, Guerrero 0, Exciminiano 0, Vinluan 0, Knuttel 0, Manalo 0.
ADMU 70 – Reyes 18, Salva 14, Sumalinog 11, Baclao 7, Golla 6, Buenafe 6, Salamat 6, Long 2, Chua 0, Austria 0, Monfort 0.
Quarters: 12-24, 37-39, 54-60, 75-70.
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