Adamson University rolled to its second consecutive win in the UAAP Season 86 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament with an 81-64 conquest of Ateneo de Manila University, Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Baby Falcons improved to 2-0 ahead of their anticipated clash against fellow league-leader National University Nazareth School Bullpups on Saturday, 8 a.m. at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Adamson head coach Mike Fermin, despite the 17-point win, emphasized the Falcons’ need to execute the game plan to a tee.
“Happy with the win but again, yung game plan hindi kasi ganon nasunod masyado. We know naman that Ateneo’s main guy is Porter, I don’t think we’re able to limit him. We’re happy we got the win but at the same time medyo disappointed sa performance defensively,” said Fermin as Kris Porter finished with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 9-of-16 clip from the line along with 15 rebounds.
Justine Garcia, a Grade 12 floor general, led the Baby Falcons with 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists while being a plus-30 in his 22 minutes and 20 seconds on the floor, while Gene Carillo and Earl Medina chipped in 12 points apiece.
Garcia and Carillo made key baskets when the Blue Eagles threatened to come back in the fourth, pulling within eight multiple times, the last at 56-64, after being down by as much as 15 to open the quarter.
The duo combined for seven points while JC Bonzalida, who tallied nine points, six assists, and four rebounds, added two to reestablish a 16-point lead with 2:02 left, 76-60.
“It shows maturity sa team ko. Nung fourth, nati-tempt na ako mag timeout pero binigyan ko sila ng chance, tingnan ko kung gaano na sila ka-composed. They were able to respond naman, masaya ako doon,” added Fermin on the team’s answer to the Blue Eagles’ run in the payoff period.
Chris Urbina added 16 points while Ziv Espinas also delivered nine points and five rebounds for Ateneo.
In the other game, University of Santo Tomas entered the win column by escaping University of the Philippines Integrated School, 90-84.
Both Ateneo and UST, along with Far Eastern University-Diliman and De La Salle Zobel are at 1-1 in the middle of the standings.
“Masaya ako na nakuha namin yung first win namin sa UAAP. Sana mag tuloy tuloy pa,” said new Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Inigo, a former champion coach in the NCAA, on his first win in the league.
Doys Dungo and Koji Buenaflor shone for UST with double-double performances. The former had 19 points and 13 rebounds along with four assists and two steals, while the latter got 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field with 16 rebounds.
The Tiger Cubs, who missed Joaquin Ludovice due to his uniform missing from the laundry last night, also got contributions in the scoring department from JB Lim (11 points), Lanze Ronquillo (11), and Kurt Velasquez (10).
This was UP’s 15th straight defeat.
The last time Fighting Maroons won was last January 15, their first game in Season 85 via a 101-94 win over University of the East before proceeding to lose the next 13 and their first game this season.
Daryl Valdeavilla made six triples and finished with 26 points to go with six assists and five rebounds as UPIS slid to 0-2, tied with University of the East.
Rocco Melicor chimed in 23 points and seven rebounds, Bruce Tubongbanua 12 points, while Ethan Egea supplied 14 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out five assists but committed nine turnovers.
The Scores:
First Game
AdU 81 – Garcia 17, Carillo 12, Medina 12, Bonzalida 9, Tumabang 8, De Jesus 6, Sajili 5, Esperanza 3, Reyes 3, Perez 3, Tumaneng 2, Abayon 1, Umali 0, Baluyut 0, Artango 0.
Ateneo 64 – Porter 19, Urbina 16, Espinas 9, De Guzman 7, Delos Santos 5, Ong 3, Asistio 2, Lagdamen 2, Ebdane 1, Domangcas 0, Suico 0, Madrangca 0, Prado 0.
Quarterscores: 15-16, 38-29, 60-45, 81-64
Second Game
UST 90 – Dungo 19, Buenaflor 19, Lim 11, Ronquillo 11, Velasquez 10, Reyes 7, Verzosa 4, Manding 2, Bucsit 2, Esteban 2, Vidanes 2, Kaw 1, Loreto 0, Ferrer 0.
UPIS 84 – Valdeavilla 26, Melicor 23, Egea 14, Magbanua 12, Coronel 4, Hernandez 3, Gomez De Liaño 2.
Quarterscores: 32-23, 52-49, 72-65, 90-84
