Coming off a loss to Ateneo, FEU bounced back and regained the fourth spot in the standings with a 6-6 record. La Salle, on the other hand, fell to fifth place with a 5-6 card.
L-Jay Gonzales topscored with 14 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Ken Tuffin also caught fire, nailing four of his six 3-point attempts to finish with 14 points. Wendell Comboy and Xyrus Torres contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Tamaraws shot a season-high 54.1 percent from the field, including 13-for-29 (44.8 percent) from beyond the arc, which helped them secure a wire-to-wire win.
"Well, of course, we needed this win badly," said FEU coach Olsen Racela. "I was impressed with our offense today, our shooting. But I am happier with the way we defended, holding them down to 60. I am more satisfied with how we defended today more than our offense."
With Gonzales at the forefront, the Tamaraws established control from the get-go. They continued to wax hot in the second half, keeping the Green Archers frustrated on the other end as they built as high as a 22-point lead.
"Our mentality really was to treat this game as a do-or-die game. We have three games left. All of those games are actually do-or-die if we want to make it to the Final Four. That's why we had a sense of urgency," added Racela. "We played possession by possession, not really worrying about how well we did or how bad we did the previous play but worry on the next possession. I think they really followed that mentality today that's why we became victorious."
Justine Baltazar paced La Salle with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jamie Malonzo added 13 points and seven boards.
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.
Quarters: 27-11, 40-29, 57-42, 81-60.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
- FEU had 19 assists in the game, with L-Jay Gonzales and Alec Stockton combining for 12.
- The Green Archers had an 18-9 advantage in offensive rebounds (16-8 in second-chance points) in the loss. The Tamaraws still had a slight edge in total rebounds, 43-40.
NEXT GAMES
FEU - October 23 (Wednesday) vs Adamson at Smart-Araneta Coliseum
La Salle - October 23 (Wednesday) vs UST at Smart-Araneta Coliseum
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