Allen Liwag and Emilio Aguinaldo College waxed hot in the pay-off period, taking a rousing 67-57 upset win against Adamson University in Group A of the 2022 FilOiI EcoOil Preseason Cup, Thursday in San Juan City.
The Generals moved to the fifth spot with a 3-3 record. The Soaring Falcons, meanwhile, fell to their second straight loss, 4-3.
“Well to be honest, two weeks ago our team was going down. We’re very, very fortunate that these players took the downfall as a challenge and they responded well,” said head coach Oliver Bunyi.
“Well, we have to play a great game against NU and Mapua. I’m not yet aware na we still have a chance but it doesn’t matter for us, what’s more important is that we gain a lot of experience and lessons from those remaining two games,” he added.
Down 45-47, a Liwag jumper tied the game to 47-all at the 7:57 mark of the fourth quarter.
Liwag and Adam Doria then extended the run to 15-1 to get the 60-48 cushion with 4:05 minutes left.
Adamson’s Matt Erolon cut the deficit to eight, 55-63, with 1:12 remaining, but it was the closest they could get.
JC Luciano eventually sealed the win for the Generals with a layup with 31 seconds to spare.
Liwag fired 13 points built on 6-of-12 shooting from the field along with nine rebounds. Luciano and Ralph Robin scored 10 points each, with the former having nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while the latter got three rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
EAC will have its six-day break before it faces National University on August 17 at 3:00 PM.
AP Manlapaz is the lone double-digit scorer for the Soaring Falcons, producing 11 points and three rebounds. Vince Magbuhos supplied eight points and six rebounds.
Jerom Lastimosa, Ivan Maata, Joem Sabandal and Cedrick Manzano did not play for Adamson. Adamson will play University of the Philippines next, on Sunday at 5:00 PM.
The Scores:
EAC 67 — Liwag 13, Robin 10, Luciano 10, Ad. Doria 8, Tolentino 7, Maguliano 4, Balowa 4, An. Doria 4, Bacud 4, Umapad 2, Bajon 1, Cosa 0, Dominguez 0.
Adamson 57 — Manlapaz 11, V. Magbuhos 8, Douanga 6, Torres 6, Hanapi 5, Barcelona 5, Erolon 4, Yerro 3, Barasi 2, Dignadice 2, Colonia 2, Fuentebella 0.
Quarterscores: 11-8, 29-28, 41-47, 67-57.
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The entire 2022 Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup will stream LIVE on Smart Sports Facebook page
