UAAP: Pasaol mum after late two-pointer in FEU’s 3-point loss to Ateneo

Far Eastern University’s Janrey Pasaol (#13) against Ateneo de Manila University in UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball. UAAP Media.MANILA — Janrey Pasaol was mum about his late floater in Far Eastern University’s 72-75 loss to Ateneo de Manila University, the Tamaraws’ third straight defeat in UAAP Season 89.

The league’s reigning men’s basketball tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) respectfully begged off from interviews after attempting a two-pointer in the final 3.7 seconds, spoiling what could have been a valiant comeback by the Tamaraws, who erased an 11-point deficit in the final two minutes behind Jorick Bautista’s late three-pointers.

For FEU head coach Sean Chambers, however, such moments could have been avoided had the Tamaraws not needed to claw back from a deficit that grew to as much as 18 points.

“We had our moments, we had our chances to squeeze it out at the end, but now you gotta play perfect basketball,” said Chambers as the Tams succumbed to their third straight loss after an impressive 4-1 start to the year.

But rather than lambasting his players, Chambers challenged his veterans to lead by example once more, saying it was among the keys to FEU’s strong start before its recent skid.

“We would like our leaders to continue leading the way, and not let the young guys fall behind them,” said Chambers. “We must continue to work on our habits. We had some very unfortunate, uncharacteristic turnovers. We played really tight, I’m not sure why.”

While the loss dropped FEU into a tie with Ateneo, De La Salle University, and University of Santo Tomas for the fourth to seventh places, Chambers believes the Tamaraws can still finish the elimination round strong as they continue their Final Four hunt.

“This year, I don’t think there’s a team out there that we cannot beat. I really believe we can go on a 6-0 run from hereon. I think we’ll be great moving forward,” he said.

For that to happen, Chambers said the Tamaraws must approach every remaining game as a do-or-die contest.

“We knew that Ateneo would be extremely desperate [today],” said Chambers of the Blue Eagles, who entered Saturday riding a three-game skid. “So moving forward, we are now the desperate team, so we have to be very careful in every team that we will play.”

“At the end of the day, we just have to be better. Ultimately, it falls on me to make sure that we’re better,” Chambers added.