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Garcia lifts Tams past Fighting Maroons, 59-53
Ryan Roose Garcia reminded University of the Philippines on Thursday who is the reigning UAAP men's basketball tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP). Far Eastern University's veteran shooting guard waxed hot in the stretch to help the Tamaraws complete a 59-53 come-from-behind win over the Fighting Maroons in the 74th UAAP at the Araneta Coliseum. Garcia, the season 73 MVP, scored 14 of FEU's final 16 points in the final three minutes of the contest to help the Tamaraws erase a 13-point third-quarter deficit and snap a three-game slide dating back to their first-round loss to the same squad. The Morayta-based dribblers suffered a 76-63 beating at the hands of the Fighting Maroons on August 4, a loss that started their trip down south. FEU's victory on Thursday hiked its record to 5-4 for solo third place. Garcia finished with 25 points tying his career-high. He scored 18 in the final period to save the Tamaraws from the jaws of defeat. Garcia sparked the Tams' fourth-quarter comeback after he was given the green light by FEU coach Bert Flores to take over the game. "I was struggling in the first three quarters but when coach Bert gave me the ball that gave me the confidence," said Garcia, who tied La Salle's JV Casio for the most points scored in a quarter. Casio also scored 18 in the the Green Archers' 81-79 win over University of Santo Tomas on August 28, 2008. "I told him to hold the ball because he is the veteran of this team," said Flores. "His true game really showed." UP seemed headed of sweeping FEU this season after the Fighting Maroons posted a 53-40 lead midway in the fourth. But Garcia, who was held to seven points in the first three quarters, drained a three-pointer in the 4:39 mark of the contest to touch off his 12-point swing. Another Garcia trey cut UP's lead to 53-51 before he tied the game on a runner against Alinko Mbah's defense with 1:46 left in the contest. Garcia finally gave FEU the lead on a running shot with 1:12 to go before Russell Escoto put some cushion hitting two free throws for a four-point edge. Garcia settled the final score with two free throws with 11.2 seconds left. After the final buzzer sounded, a calm and collected Garcia was mobbed by his teammates to celebrate the victory. FEU trailed, 48-35, after three quarters but outscored UP 24-5 in the final period. The Tams held the Maroons, who dropped to 2-7, scoreless in the final 3:39 of the match. Flores said the team's morale was down after a 74-67 overtime loss to Ateneo, where the Tams squandered a 16-point lead, last Saturday. “We were really down because of that loss. I haven’t slept for days. I just tried to motivate my players and learn from that loss so we can recover." UP had no answer for Garcia’s explosion as it only had five points in the fourth after leading by as big as 16 points on a Mike Gamboa triple to start the canto, 51-35. Paolo Romero paced UP with 17 points including the final two markers of the Fighting Maroons in the game. UP shot 1-of-11 from beyond the arc and 1-of-8 from two-point range in the fourth period. – JVP, GMA News
