Romeo explodes for 33 as FEU whips UP

By Josiah Albelda Posted Sep 11th 2013

Make that two straight for Terrence Romeo.

The Far Eastern University guard reset his career-high anew in leading the Tamaraws to an 87-69 drubbing of University of the Philippines in the 76th UAAP men's basketball tournament Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Romeo, the league's leading scorer, fired 33 points on 11 of 23 shooting while hauling down nine rebounds, five assists and two steals for FEU, who nabbed solo top spot with their 10th win.

The Tamaraws closed out the elimination round guaranteed of at least a playoff for the second twice-to-beat slot -- less than a year after missing the Final Four bus.

After wrapping up their 14-game campaign, FEU will take a long break waiting for their semifinal opponent. 

And unlike what happened in the first round when their game tailed off upon the tournament's resumption, coach Nash Racela says this time it will be different.

"After the 1st round, the break was FIBA Asia. Ngayon iba," he said. "I'll spend more time with the players, kung kailangan matulog ako sa dorm nila, tatabihan ko si Terrence."

Racela played the role of an assistant coach for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Championships and, thus, wasn't able to intently look after his wards during the two-week lull.

The result was the Tamaraws going 1-4 in their first five games in the second round, a skid they arrested with back-to-back wins starring explosive performances by Romeo.

"I always say to Terrence, he'll have his good days and bad days," Racela added. "He just has to accept it."

Romeo also got plenty of help this time, with four more FEU players finishing with at least seven points, led by Mike Tolomia, who fired three triples en route to 15 points, four rebounds and five assists.

The Tamaraws made 52.3% of their shots from inside the arc and had 16 assists in goring UP, who is in danger of finishing the year with a 0-14 card.

Sam Marata paced the Maroons with 23 points while Raul Soyud added 14 points and 18 boards. 

The scores:

FEU (87) - Romeo 33, Tolomia 15, Pogoy 9, Garcia 8, Hargrove 7, Cruz 4, Belo 4, Aguilon 3, Sentcheu 2, Delfinado 2, Inigo 0, Mendoza 0, Luz 0, Lee Yu 0, Jose 0, Dennison 0

UP (69) - Marata 23, Soyud 14, Lao 6, Gallarza 6, Suarez 5, Wong 4, Ligad 3, Gingerich 3, Harris 2, Ball 2, Desiderio 1, Asilum 0, Amar 0

Quarters: 20-8, 46-28, 67-49, 87-69