UP foils Adamson; NU extends streak
Games Today (Buddhacare gym, Q.C.) 9 a.m. – SSC-R vs St. Jude 10:45 – JRU vs CKSC 1 p.m. – Lyceum vs FEU 2:45 p.m. – HCHS vs UPHDS
Juan Gomez de Lliano took over from King Vergierre in the extra five minutes, scoring eight points to lift University of the Philippines to a thrilling 94-92 win over erstwhile undefeated Adamson in the 9th PCABL (Philippine Chinese Amateur Basketball League) FREEGO Cup held Thursday at the Philippine Buddhacare Academy gym in Quezon City.
Though they played minus a couple of key players, it was the Junior Maroons who made the crucial plays as they completed their impressive comeback from an anemic third quarter showing where they allowed the Baby Falcons to score 28 points and grab the lead 63-60 going into the final quarter.
Vergierre was almost unstoppable with his jumpers that he scored 11 of his team-high 31 points in the payoff period. He also had 14 boards, 4 steals, one block and 1 assist to grab the Freego Player of the Game award and lead UP to its fifth win in seven games in Group A elims.
Lliano finished with 28 markers highlighted by three triples aside from pulling down 12 boards while Gerry Abadiano paced the Adamson with 33 points on a remarkable 8-of-12 shooting from the 3-point zone.
Adamson fell into a tie for Group B lead with National University, which tormented St. Jude Catholic School, 89-23, in the tournament also sponsored by Smart, Jumbo Plastic Linoleum, Hapee Toothpaste, Insular Square (Cebu), and New Pioneer Auto Supply (Cebu).
Both National University (NU) and Adamson have similar 6-1 records.
In other games, La Salle Greenhills got 23 points from Troy Mallilim and improved to 4-3 with a 99-83 beating of Jose Rizal University while Arellano University outlasted Letran, 80-75, to likewise notch its fourth win in seven games.