UAAP: Falcons foil Warriors
The Warriors’ Final 4 hopes ran into trouble after they lost to Adamson, 7471, yesterday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
11 a.m. - UP vs NU
4 p.m. - Ateneo vs La Salle
Adamson embarked on a big third quarter surge before showing just enough poise in the end game to eke out a scary 74-71 victory over University of the East in the UAAP basketball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win allowed the Falcons to post their third victory in 10 games and put the dimming chances of the Warriors to book a seat in the final four in peril as the Warriors dropped their eighth game in 12 matches.
Leading by just four points at the half, 48-44, the Falcons embarked on a blistering 16-0 run highlighted by a Papi Sarr dunk to give the Falcons a 64-44 lead with 4:16 remaining in the quarter.
But that only lit a flame from under the Red Warriors as they responded with a 10-1 run to end the quarter to stay within striking distance heading into the payoff period.
There, the Falcons had to stave off some scary moments as Emil Palma and Chris Javier conspired in a 17-7 run to come to as close as one, 72-71 with 36 seconds to go following Palma's tip-in.
But that was the last time the Red Warriors converted a basket as the Falcons clamped down on defense as Joseph Nalos drained the insurance free throws to seal the deal for the Falcons.
"It's a good morale booster for us. Di pa namin nakukuwa yung respeto ng ibang teams, kaya kailangan namin manalo ngayon," said head coach Mike Fermin.
"I told them we just have to be composed. Hindi lang basta basta ang team na yan, they will go hard. Ang problema nagkanya kanya kami ng huli. I told them we just needed to get stops," He added.
Sarr led the Falcons with 22 points and 20 rebounds as JD Tungcab chipped in 14 points.
Nalos made up for his nine turnovers as he finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
“Wala nang pressure sa akin eh. After our first win, sinabi ko na we’ll be winning more than one game. Now na-triple na namin yung win from last year,” said Fermin.
Derige once again had a big game as he finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors.
Scores:
ADAMSON 74 – Sarr 22, Tungcab 14, Nalos 11, J. Garcia 7, Escalambre 5, Ochea 5, Polican 5, Capote 3, Margallo 2, Bernardo 0, Fernandez 0, Villanueva 0.
UE 71 – Derige 17, Palma 11, Charcos 9, Javier 9, J. Varilla 8, Abanto 4, De Leon 4, Yu 4, Batiller 3, Sta. Ana 2, Gagate 0, Manalang 0, Penuela 0, P. Varilla 0.
Quarters: 24-19; 48-44; 6554; 74-71.