Francis Maniego of the University of the Philippines soars high for a basket over three Nnational University defenders in Saturday’s UAAP basketball tournament action at the Araneta Coliseum. The Fighting Maroons won, 78-76. (Bob Dungo Jr.)

Games Sunday (Araneta Coliseum)
12 noon — Adamson vs UE
5 p.m. — Ateneo vs La Salle

Far Eastern University hung tough in the endgame to beat University of Santo Tomas, 75-67, Saturday and gain a share of the lead in the UAAP basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tamaraws started slow and saw the Tigers race to a 20-13 lead after 10 minutes but regrouped quickly to outscore UST, 22-11, in the next period to grab the lead for good, 35-31, at the turn.

Mark Barroca showed why expectations are high on him prior to the season as he led the Tamaraws with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of action.

It was the seventh straight win for the Tamaraws after dropping a 63-59 decision to Ateneo on opening day.

“We’re lucky na nanalo kami. Nahirapan kami sa depensa tapos wala pa si Cervantes. Buti nag-step up ang mga players at lalo na si Mark,” said FEU coach Glenn Capacio.

Big man Reil Cervantes served out a one-game suspension.

Dylan Ababou had 23 points, 13 more than his last game against FEU, and eight rebounds while sophomore guard Clark Bautista posted a season-high 11 points for the Tigers who slipped into a three-way tie for third place with University of the East and La Salle at 4-4.
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Today’s UAAP games will have two sets of tickets – one exclusively for the Ateneo-La Salle game at 5 p.m. and the other for the match between Adamson and University of the East at noon.

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In the opening game, University of the Philippines sneaked past National University, 78-76.

Taking advantage of the ejection of big man Jewel Ponferrada midway in the second quarter, the Fighting Maroons exploded in the third quarter to erase a 12-point deficit then shook off a late Bulldogs surge in the final period to snap out of a three-game losing skein.

Veteran Martin Reyes shot 7-of-13 from the field for 17 points, Miggy Maniego added 15 points and rookie guard Mikee Reyes chipped in 14 as the Diliman-based squad tied idle Adamson and NU at 2-6.

A third quarter shooting display that saw UP make 14-of-17 shots for an 82-percent clip with both Reyes (not related to each other) combining for 17 points gave UP a 10-point lead.

“Kailangan pala maka-shoot kami ng mga 80 percent para manalo, we shot 82 percent in the third and 89 in the fourth quarter against Ateneo,” UP coah Aboy Castro said.

“But more than that, we also did well on defense.”

The Bulldogs’ cause was affected by the ejection of Ponferrada and seldom-used Jerome Tungcul with five minutes left in the second quarter for entering the court during an altercation between Maniego and NU’s Joseph Terso.

Without Ponferrada, who averaged 10.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and a league-leading 2.4 blocks, UP dominated the boards, 45-32.

Meanwhile, bitter rivals Ateneo and La Salle square off again in front of an expected packed crowd at the Araneta Coliseum today at 5 p.m.