The new-look Adamson University Soaring Falcons showcased its improved basketball program in the opening day of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The rookies of the Soaring Falcons led their team to a 104-85 wire-to-wire win over the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“It’s nice to be back here,” Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren, who last coached in the UAAP back in 2008. “It’s been awhile.”
Jerrick Ahanmisi was spectacular in his UAAP debut, scoring a game-high 28 points. He was lights-out from downtown, knocking down six of his seven attempts. Fellow rookie Robbie Manalang almost notched a double-double with 16 points and dished out nine assists.
“I am confident with these two guys. They are smart enough, shooting has been there,” Pumaren remarked. “I think we are just lucky to recruit Jerrick. Robbie has been here since last year and we were able to polish his skills.”
Ahanmisi had already tallied 13 markers in the first half. Carrying the confidence and the momentum, the 6’1 gunner scored 13 of the first 15 points of the Falcons in the third frame. Papi Sarr and fellow rookie Robbie Manalang joined in the party to extend Adamson’s lead to 19 points, 66-47.
The Fighting Maroons heavily relied on Paul Desiderio in the final frame. The Cebuano slashed his way through the lane, majority coming from careless Adamson turnovers, to cut the lead to just six, 77-71, with 4:33 remaining in the game.
“This was one of the games I was worried about going to the season because of the jitters,” Pumaren said about the 27 turnovers his team committed. “It showed a bit. For me, I still classify them as a rookie-laden team.”
“It was our mental mistakes but we were able to recover.”
A basket by Manalang dampened the hijack attempt of the Fighting Maroons while Dawn Ochea and rookie big man Sean Manganti, who had a scintillating poster dunk to end the game, finished off UP, leading by as much as 21 points in the waning seconds of the game.
King Falcon Dawn Ochea added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Papi Sarr notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.
The Fighting Maroons’ porous defense gave way to an excellent 66 percent shooting night for Adamson. Moreover, the Soaring Falcons made it rain inside the Big Dome, knocking down a total of 13 triples.
Desiderio paced UP with 24 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Jett Manuel and Dave Moralde added 15 and 12 markers respectively.
The Soaring Falcons (1-0) next face the defending UAAP Champions, the FEU Tamaraws, on Sunday, September 11 at 2:00pm. The Fighting Maroons (0-1) look to notch its first win on Saturday, September 10 against the DLSU Green Archers at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
ADU (104) – Ahanmisi 28, Manalang 16, Ochea 13, Sarr 13, Mustre 9, Manganti 8, Tungcab 6, Pasturan 6, Ng 4, Paranada 1, Camacho 0.
UP (85) – Desiderio 24, Manuel 15, Moralde 12, Asilum 11, Vito 7, Webb 5, Harris 5, Gomez de Liano 2, Romero 2, Lao 2, Dario 0, Lim 0, Prado 0, Jaboneta 0, Longa 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18, 46-38, 73-57, 104-85.
