It took a familiar face to end the high that coach Derrick Pumaren and the University of the East were riding.
Coach Franz Pumaren and the Adamson University Soaring Falcons were able to weather a highly-physical contest, taking a 66-57 win over the Red Warriors to bounce back, Wednesday afternoon.
Adamson, who are coming off a loss to the Ateneo Blue Eagles last Sunday, lift their slate to 6-3 — good for solo third. UE’s two-game winning also ended in this game, dropping them to 2-7.
“We learned from our last game against Ateneo is that we’re not that good of a team if we play individually. It was our season-low in assist and some guys drifted from what we were supposed to do,” said Franz Pumaren, “But we dissected everything already and I guess they now embrace the idea of why we’re winning.”
Jerrick Ahanmisi, who was limited to just six points against Ateneo, topped Adamson with 14 points and two steals. Papi Sarr finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds.
“It’s a good win coming off a loss. We knew that UE was going to play hard,” shared Ahanmisi.
“It always feel good when we win. We’ve been preparing for this game, we just came from a loss. We knew they were prepared for us,” added Sarr.
But it was a highly physical contest that saw JC Cullar and Nick Abanto sprain their ankles in a span of three minutes during the final frame, while Sean Manganti had a clash early in the game that left him with a bloody nose.
“It was not an easy game for us. We struggled. UE is on a streak, they really played well. They’re not the UE team that we played during the first round. At least the team stayed within the course,” admitted Pumaren.
Up with just five points with four minutes remaining, Manganti knocked down a backbreaking triple that broke the momentum of UE. The Red Warriors struggled to find good looks to close out the game as baskets by Ahanmisi and Manganti sealed the win.
Manganti added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Alvin Pasaol, the second leading scorer of the league, finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with 12 rebounds. However, he went just 10-for-26 from the field. Mark Olayon added 16 markers and five dimes.
The Red Warriors could not get anything from their bench, which scored a combined 12 points.
Adamson will next face the De La Salle University Green Archers on Saturday, October 21, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. UE, on the other hand, take on the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons on Sunday, October 22, at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
ADU 66 – Ahanmisi 14, Sarr 12, Manganti 10, Camacho 6, Bernardo 6, Pingoy 5, Manalang 5, Lojera 2, Ochea 2, Hill 2, Mustre 2, Paranada 0, Espeleta 0
UE 57 – Pasaol 22, Olayon 16, Bartolome 4, Maloles 3, Manalang 2, Acuno 2, Abanto 2, Cullar 2, Conner 2, Armenion 2, Varilla 0, Derige 0
Quarterscores: 19-16, 35-30, 55-48, 66-57
