Adamson University took down UAAP rivals University of the Philippines with a wire-to-wire 71-64 win in Group A of the 15th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup, Sunday evening in San Juan City.
The win saw the Soaring Falcons book a quarterfinals berth with a 5-3 win-loss record. On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons fell to its second loss and went down to 5-2.
Leading 35-23 at the start of the third quarter, the Soaring Falcons enacted an 11-3 run to gain a 20-point cushion, 46-26, with Joem Sabandal, Jerom Lastimosa, and Cedrick Manzano scoring baskets in that run.
In the fourth quarter, the Soaring Falcons had lapses, allowing the Fighting Maroons cut the lead down by six, 66-59, ending with a Carl Tamayo jumper at the 4:03 mark. That was the closest UP could get, though, as Adamson corrected these mistakes after the timeout.
Sabandal then went into a personal 5-0 run to virtually sealed the win for the Soaring Falcons. The guard sank both of his free throws before icing the game with a deep triple, restoring a double-digit lead, 71-59, with 1:56 left in the game.
“Yeah [I’m happy] I remember during one of the timeouts ang sabi namin ‘there’s too much celebration going on’, I think that was the end of the third quarter. Ang sabi ko ‘wala pang dapat i-celebrate’,” said Adamson head coach Nash Racela. ”Pero, we should celebrate the right things, so kung tama ang laro ninyo, then that’s a reason to celebrate pero kanina sabi namin ‘nag te-turnover tayo, nagkakamali tayo bakit tayo nag ce-celebrate; then kumabaga mag self-check lang muna tayo ulit.”
Sabandal and Lastimosa starred for Adamson with 14 points apiece. Sabandal added three boards, two assists, and two steals, while Lastimosa also contributed four rebounds and two steals. AP Manlapaz chipped in 13 markers, a rebound, and a steal.
Malick Diouf starred for UP with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists. Zavier Lucero finished with 11 markers, two rebounds, one assist, and two steals, while Tamayo ended with 10 points, two boards, and two assists.
RC Calimag, Bismarck Lina, and Henry Galinato Jr. were at the venue but did not suit up for UP.
The Fighting Maroons will look to stop their skid when they face Arellano University on Thursday at 5:00 PM still at the same San Juan City venue.
The Scores:
Adamson 71 — Lastimosa 14, Sabandal 14, Manlapaz 13, Manzano 8, V. Magbuhos 7, Flowers 5, Douanga 5, Hanapi 4, Colonia 1, Yerro 0, Barasi 0, Jaymalin 0, Erolon 0, Torres 0.
UP 64 — Diouf 15, Lucero 11, Tamayo 10, Fortea 9, Abadiano 8, Cagulangan 6, Alarcon 3, Torculas 2, Ramos 0, Catapusan 0.
Quarterscores: 18-14, 35-23, 61-46, 71-64.Quarters: 18-14, 35-23, 61-46, 71-64.
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The entire 2022 Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup will stream LIVE on Smart Sports Facebook page
