The Adamson University Soaring Falcons broke away from a tight first half and leaned on their impeccable outside shooting, to fend off the National University Bulldogs, 78-72, Friday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The win was the fifth straight for the Soaring Falcons in Group A of the Premier Cup, sealing a place in the quarterfinals. On their part, the Bulldogs suffered their first loss and slipped to 3-1.
National U took the initiative at the first quarter, but the Falcons torched from behind-the-arc in the third to pull away.
Adamson fired five treys in that period with Jerrick Ahanmisi accounting for two of these shots. The Falcons wrested the lead at 58-51 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs tried to come back, cutting a 17-point deficit off a Papi Sarr layup, with captain Jjay Alejandro at the helm. NU managed to close the gap at ten, 67-77, with two minutes left.
Nonetheless, Adamson turned to their defense to deny the Bulldogs a late comeback.
Assistant coach Jack Santiago shared after the game that, “We prepared well for this. It is the first time we play a UAAP team. Yung four wins namin puro NCAA; ito yung pinaka-test namin.”
The former Green Archer, however, was not pleased of how the Falcons closed out the game. “Pero hindi maganda yung tapos nung mga bata, lalo na dun sa last minute, parang nag-relax na.”
The unbeaten Falcons will solidify this run as they face winless Emilio Aguinaldo College (0-2) on Monday, May 22 at 3:15 pm.
Alejandro finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists, to lead the Bulldogs while Issa Gaye chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
The Bulldogs will try to go back to its winning ways when they take on Far Eastern University (1-0) on Friday, May 26 at 1:15 pm.
The Scores:
AdU (78) – Ahanmisi 16, Manganti 14, Hill 11, Sarr 9, Manalang 8, Pingoy 8, Camacho 6, Ochea 2, Zaldivar 2, Mustre 2, Paranada 2.
NU (72) – Alejandro 21, Gaye 13, Bartlett 8, Yu 6, Salem 6, Flores 4, Diputado 4, Lastimosa 3, Galvelo 3, Morido 2, Tibayan 2, Abatayo 0, Aquino 0, Sistoza 0, Rangel 0.
Quarterscores: 17-21, 33-32, 58-51, 78-72
