The Adamson University Lady Falcons were able to withstand a late surge by University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, taking a 67-60 win to gain solo fourth in the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Basketball tournament, Saturday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Jamie Alcoy led Adamson with 17 markers. She grabbed five boards, dished out two dimes, and stole the ball four times. Jonalyn Lacson added 14 points, five rebounds, and five swats.
“Ni-remind ko sa kanila na tayo yung target ng nasa bottom half,” Adamson head coach Mike Fermin said after gaining a full game advantage over the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses in the standings. “Imagine this, yung mga tinalo natin nung first round, gusto tayo talunin niyan. Let’s just hold on to this.”
“We have five games left. Ang target namin is to win four of those.”
Sophomore floor general Kathleen Araja sparked a huge fourth quarter surge for the Lady Falcons, scoring five of her seven points to start the final frame. Lacson and Alcoy provided additional buckets to extend Adamson’s lead to a game-high 12 points, 63-51, with 4:36 remaining.
“Nung pinasok ko siya nung first half parang ang lamya. Kinausap ko siya nung halftime,” Fermin remarked about the 18 year old point guard. “Maganda ang diskarte niya. Siya yung one-woman press break namin. Gusto namin atake lang siya then pull back and find her teammates.”
However, the Lady Maroons rallied back, taking advantage of a lax Adamson team. Behind Pesque Pesquera and a three-point play by Maan Wong, UP were able to cut the lead to just five, 65-60, with 1:14 remaining in the game.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanila, let’s not be contented pag nakalamang na. Ang problema kasi akala nila panalo,” Fermin lamented as Adamson committed 32 turnovers in the game compared to 28 for UP. “Hindi naman susuko yung kalaban. Ang disappointing sa game na ito is yung turnovers especially nung dulo.”
Misses by Patricia Rodas and Tin Aliermo in the end game led to a basket by Kaye Pingol to seal Adamson’s fourth win in nine outings.
“Last four possessions, tatlong turnover. Yung na-shoot namin disgrasya pa. Panu kung hindi na-shoot yun, nag-rarally pa yung kalaban,” the Adamson mentor admitted.
Pesquera and Aliermo scored 16 markers each with the latter grabbing 11 rebounds as well. Wong grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds for the Lady Maroons.
The Adamson Lady Falcons (4-5) will next face the National University Lady Bulldogs (9-0) on Tuesday, October 18 at 3:00pm. The Lady Maroons (1-8), on the other hand, take on the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles on the same day at 1:00pm. Both games will be played at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“I just want to see them not quit. Gusto ko just be aggressive and keep on shooting,” Fermin shared about their game against the defending champions.
The Scores:
ADU (67) – Alvoy 17, Lacson 14, Araja 7, Pingol 6, Prado 6, Razalo 6, Osano 5, Camacho 3, Dampios 2, Rosario 1, Cabug 0, Cacho 0.
UP (60) – Pesquera 16, Aliermo 16, Esplana 10, Wong 7, Ordoveza 6, Franco 3, Medina 2, Rodas 0, Tan 0, Lapid 0, Cruz 0, Viray 0.
Quarterscores: 14-19, 31-32, 47-43, 67-60.
