Push Admin

FEU fends off UST to reach UAAP women's basketball finals

Article (news)

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/11/28/feu.jpg"/><figcaption>The FEU Lady Tamaraws celebrate their win over UST. Arvin Lim, <a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/basketball/photos">ABS-CBN Sports</a></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- Far Eastern University (FEU) weathered a stirring rally from University of Santo Tomas (UST) for a thrilling 68-66 triumph in the stepladder semifinals of the UAAP Season 81 women&#x27;s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.The second-seeded Lady Tamaraws rode a monster effort from Clare Castro, then survived a last-ditch shot from UST&#x27;s Loraine Capilit in the final 6.3 seconds to hold on for the win.They advanced to the finals of the women&#x27;s tournament, where they will play the five-peat seeking National University Lady Bulldogs in a best-of-3 series. This is FEU&#x27;s first finals appearance since Season 77, when they were swept by NU for the first of the Lady Bulldogs&#x27; four straight titles.&quot;Hindi namin ine-expect na umabot kami ng finals,&quot; a giddy FEU coach Bert Flores said after the game. &quot;Six players namin ang nawala… pero ang laking bagay ni Clare (Castro). Pasalamat ako sa kanya.&quot; Castro had 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting, along with 15 rebounds and two blocks. Fatima Quiapo added 12 points for the Lady Tamaraws, who had a 54-37 rebounding edge over the third-seeded Golden Tigresses.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/news/2018/11/28/adamson-up-dispute-historic-ticket-uaap-81-finals-50383">READ: Adamson, UP dispute historic ticket to UAAP 81 finals</a></li></ul>UST was coming off a tough 78-69 triumph over Adamson University in the first phase of the stepladder semifinals, and had hoped to beat FEU to force a decider.The Lady Tamaraws were headed for a comfortable triumph after taking a 58-45 lead with 9:07 left, thanks to a three-pointer by Valerie Mamaril.But the Tigresses roared back, thanks to season MVP Grace Irebu and graduating forward Sai Larosa. They anchored a 14-2 run, capped by an Irebu three-pointer, to make it a one-point game with 4:02 to play. After getting a stop, UST had a golden opportunity to take the lead in their next possession, but Irebu bricked an undergoal stab.That touched off a 5-0 FEU run that pushed them ahead, 65-59, with 2:09 left, but a Ruby Portillo bucket and yet another three-pointer from Irebu kept the Tigresses in the game, 66-64. After Quiapo scored a lay-up to make it a four-point game, Larosa drew a foul and calmly knocked down two charities for a 68-66 count with still 51.7 seconds left.The Lady Tamaraws kept the door open for UST with a shot-clock violation, giving the Tigresses 6.3 seconds to work with. But Capilit&#x27;s bucket was off the mark as time expired, allowing FEU to hold on for the triumph.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Last play of the season for UST. FEU goes on to the Finals, where they will play NU. <a href="https://t.co/uzPwLU6kWN">pic.twitter.com/uzPwLU6kWN</a>— Camille B. Naredo (@camillenaredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/camillenaredo/status/1067643769204305920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>&quot;Sabi ko, may oras pa tayo, huwag tayo mag-give up,&quot; said Castro. &quot;Ang haba pa ng oras, laban lang ng laban.&quot; FEU&#x27;s Flores now joins De La Salle University&#x27;s Juno Sauler as coaches who have reached the finals of both the men&#x27;s and women&#x27;s tournaments. Irebu finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Larosa had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assissts in her final game for UST.Game 1 of the FEU-NU women&#x27;s basketball finals is on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena. For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Far Eastern University (FEU) weathered a stirring rally from University of Santo Tomas (UST) for a thrilling 68-66 triumph in the stepladder semifinals of the UAAP Season 81 women's basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Far Eastern University (FEU) weathered a stirring rally from University of Santo Tomas (UST) for a thrilling 68-66 triumph in the stepladder semifinals of the UAAP Season 81 women's basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

FEU fends off UST to reach UAAP women's basketball finals

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Sports

FEU fends off UST to reach UAAP women's basketball finals

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 28, 2018 03:06 PM PHT

Read More:

FEU Lady Tamaraws

UST Golden Tigresses UAAP

basketball

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.