RJ Abarrientos buried the game-winning triple to lift Far Eastern University over Adamson University, 66-65, Thursday night in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Jerom Lastimosa drilled a triple from the top of the arc to gave the Soaring Falcons the lead, 65-63, with 20.9 seconds left.
But off a timeout, Abarrientos retaliated with his own version of a three-pointer with 8.9 ticks to go.
On the other end, Lastimosa missed another potential game-winning three for the second consecutive game as time expired.
“We all know basketball is a game of runs. We were down by eight points last five minutes,” said FEU coach Olsen Racela. “We made a last run thanks to these guys (Abarrientos and Xyrus Torres). This will really help us moving forward.”
FEU improved back to .500 at 3-3, tied with National University for fourth, while Adamson dropped its fourth-straight match and fell to 1-5 for seventh.
Abarrientos broke out of his personal slump and supplied 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Xyrus Torres, who drilled seven straight points late to pull the Tamaraws to within one with 1:45 left, had 13 points and six rebounds.
Lastimosa led the Soaring Falcons with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with six rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
AdU will clash with De La Salle University on Saturday at 1 pm while FEU will square off against University of the Philippines at 7 pm to cap the first round.
The scores:
FEU 66 - Abarrientos 17, Gonzales 16, Torres 13, Tempra 6, Ojoula 4, Alforque 3, Bienes 3, Sandagon 3, Li 1, Sajonia 0, Coquia 0, Celzo 0.
Adamson 65 - Lastimosa 16, Manzano 12, Douanga 10, Magbuhos 8, Yerro 6, Sabandal 4, Colonia 4, Zaldivar 3, Hanapi 2, Peromingan 0, Barasi 0, Jaymalin 0.
Quarterscores: 9-13, 28-26, 43-46, 66-65. (Dennis Lachica, Sportsmanila Photojournalist)