Early foul trouble and a particularly physical University of the East Red Warriors defense could not stop Sean Manganti’s rampage.
The Filipino-American forward dispelled a slow start by the Adamson University, and helped the Falcons build a 20-point lead in the second half. He finished with a UAAP career-high 27 points in just 18 minutes.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole year, even in the preseason,” said Manganti.
“I came out in the first game really… I had a terrible game. Today, I tried to make up for it.”
The 6-foot-4 cager showed considerable improvement with his perimeter shooting, swishing three of eight attempts from beyond the arc.
However, he was glad to finally score another highlight dunk after not throwing one down the entire UAAP Season 80 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
“I was so excited because that was my first dunk since Season 79. Season 80, I was hit with injuries the whole season. I was excited for that one.”
Manganti’s pride was on full display as he described his feelings towards leading the Falcons to a 2-0 record, their best in recent history.
He hopes to change the public perception on Adamson.
“Feels good. I want everybody to look at Adamson as a big school. How many years has it been looked at as a small school? Nobody takes it seriously,” the Adamson senior declared.
“I just wanna be taken seriously and show everybody we’re a great team.”
