The Varsitarian

September 8, 9:58 p.m. - ALREADY assured of Final Four slot, the Growling Tigers staved off a late rally and slipped past the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 77-73, in their crucial UAAP match at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum this afternoon.

The win was the fourth straight for the surging Tigers and allowed them to tie the Tamaraws at third place with identical 8-5 win-loss records. UST has a chance overtake FEU should it beat the National University Bulldogs in its last elimination round game, and should the Tamaraws lose to the undefeated Ateneo Blue Eagles.

The Tigers booked the last Final Four ticket even before tipoff, after the Bulldogs mangled the De La Salle Green Archers, 56-40, in the curtain-raiser. But even if the Archers won, the Tigers would still have eliminated them by virtue of their victory over FEU.

"The players really wanted to win. They worked hard and they were very determined," said UST coach Pido Jarencio.

Rookie Kevin Ferrer scored three of his 19 points via a triple late in the fourth quarter to turn back a furious FEU rally. Ferrer, last year's UAAP Juniors MVP, also grabbed 12 rebounds in another solid performance. Karim Abdul controlled the paint for UST with 20 points and 13 boards.

"My teammates gave me confidence," Ferrer said. "We complemented each other."

UST team captain Jeric Fortuna was only 2 of 7 from the beyond the arc, but still finished with 14 points. Jeric Teng contributed 11 points. Chris Camus nailed a desperation three as the shot clock was winding down to tie the score at 69 with 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Tigers led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter before the Tamaraws came alive after halftime. Jan Edward B. Ballesteros