After escaping the Arellano Chiefs in overtime last Sunday, the Adamson University Soaring Falcons once again figured in a down-the-wire affair, this time against the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags.
Adamson, though, were able to stay composed to take a 64-61 win over San Sebastian in Group B action in the 2017 Filoil Flying V Premier Cup, Wednesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Sean Manganti led all scorers with 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 7-for-7 from the stripe, while Jerrick Ahanmisi chipped in 13 markers. And the two closed out Adamson’s late 8-0 run to end the game.
“Well, for me, it’s a good experience for us, two close games. Towards the end of the game, I allowed them to play, but the problem is they sometimes tend to let their egos get involved,” said second-year Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren, as the Soaring Falcons gave up a 10-point edge late in the third quarter.
“They were taking some bad shots, some hurried shots, they were getting away from what we were supposed to be doing. So instead of an easy game, we made it difficult,” Pumaren added.
Behind RK Ilagan, the Golden Stags were able to start the final frame with a blistering 13-2 run. The sophomore then knocked down his triple of the game with 3:08 left to give San Sebastian a 61-54 lead.
“Well, for me, I think we’re underrated as a halfcourt defensive team. I know we can make some stops, and I allow the players to really dig deep inside them, what they’re capable of doing,” Pumaren shared. “I was pretty confident that we can still pull through this.”
Adamson were able to lock down on defense late, while a Sean Manganti triple followed by a Jerrick Ahanmisi lay-in with 19.1 ticks remaining gave the lead back to Adamson, 62-61. A miss by Allyn Bulanadi from downtown, free throws by Ahanmisi, and a steal by Tyrus Hill off a lackadaisical San Sebastian inbound, sealed the win for the Soaring Falcons.
Floor general Robbie Manalang scored 12 points, while Papi Sarr picked up a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Dawn Ochea, who was Adamson’s high-point man during their game against Arellano, injured his knee during the second frame.
Michael Calisaan paced San Sebastian with 15 points, while Ryan Costelo added 14 markers. John Calma grabbed 13 rebounds.
Adamson look to make it three in a row when they face the Mapua Cardinals on Friday, May 14, at 1:30pm. San Sebastian, on the other hand, take on NCAA rivals Saint Benilde on Wednesday, May 10, at 1:30pm.
The Scores:
AdU (64) – Manganti 19, Ahanmisi 13, Manalang 12, Sarr 10, Pingoy 3, Mustre 3, Hill 2, Camacho 1, Ochea 1, Bernardo 0, Paranada 0, Zaldivar 0, Vizcarra 0.
SSC-R (61) – Calisaan 15, Costelo 14, Bulanadi 10, Ilagan 9, Calma 4, Valdez 4, David 3, Gayosa 2, Baetiong 0, Are 0, Navarro 0, Sangalang 0, Quipse 0.
Quarterscores: 20-12, 31-21, 45-38, 64-61.
