ADAMSON University picked up a statement win, delivering a clutch performance to silence National University Nazareth School, 63-59, to become the sole unbeaten team in the UAAP Season 86 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Saturday at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Entering the game, the Baby Falcons knew the importance of this game despite still being early in the season as the Bullpups were the preseason favorites to win it all.
“Actually, ang usapan namin one game at a time pero alam nila yung importance ng game na ito kasi kung sino manalo dito, siya na lang ang unbeaten. Ang importante now is alam nila yung importance ng bawat laro dito,” said head coach Mike Fermin, who steered the Baby Falcons to a second place finish a season ago.
And Adamson had to dig deep to fend off the Collins Akowe-powered NU.
Down 56-50 midway through the final frame, Earl Medina knocked down a timely triple to stop the Adamson bleeding and ignite a late-game rally.
During the closing moments of the game, the Bullpups wasted numerous possessions, including an errant pass by Thomas Pillado that led to a Medina layup that gave Adamson a 60-59 lead with 47.6 seconds remaining.
A Pillado miss then led to a Gene Carillo fastbreak basket. Another error by the Bullpups on the other end sealed the deal as Justine Garcia split his charities, leaving NU stunned.
Garcia, a Grade 12 point guard, led Adamson with 13 points while Vince Reyes, a 6-foot-3 big man tasked to defend 6-foot-10 Nigerian Akowe, produced 11 points and nine rebounds.
“Si Vince kasi usapan namin ng coaches, patay na e. Preseason at two games into the season, ang sama ng laro. Pero we told him that we will give him a chance and nakakatuwa na he delivered,” said Fermin about Reyes.
Akowe still had a monster line of 20 points, 28 rebounds, and six blocks.
Gab Napacena added 12 points for the Bullpups as Macmac Alfanta, Chad Cartel, and Pillado all struggled from the field.
In the other game of the day, University of the East notched its first win of the season, turning back Ateneo High School, 73-70.
The Junior Warriors, who saw their 14-point lead crumble in the second half and were down 70-68 with 39.9 seconds left, leaned on a clutch performance from Kristoper Lagat.
Lagat, a native of Pangasinan who transferred from Ednas School of Alaminos, drained a tough three off a broken play to give UE the lead with 24.3 ticks remaining.
A Mikey Ong turnover led to two free throws for John Edry Alejandro. However, Alejandro could not convert on his two charities giving Ateneo one last attempt.
The Blue Eagles though were not able to get a clean look, turning the ball over late.
Two free throws from Lagat sealed the victory.
“Right now, for us, a win is a win. Hindi sa amin uso yung statement game. Basta panalo, we are taking it. We still have to learn. First two games, we were controlling the first half but we relax in the second half. It’s a bad habit that we have to fix,” said first-year Red Warriors head coach Karl Santos, as UE lost to DLSZ (79-76) and NUNS (70-56) in its first two games.
“As of now, yung team namin, we have two holdovers. Everyone else, walang experience pa here at galing sa province. Halo-halo yung team namin kaya we are still building our chemistry.”
Alejandro, who transferred from New Life Christian School, showed the way for UE with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting with 13 rebounds and three blocks. Lagat got 16 points while Mark Jade Sarza chipped in 11 points.
The Blue Eagles, who suffered their second straight loss to fall to 1-2, were led by Kris Porter, who produced 21 points, 14 rebounds, and five steals.
The Scores:
First Game
ADU 63 – Garcia 13, Reyes 11, Medina 8, Umali 8, Bonzalida 6, Esperanza 5, Perez 4, Sajili 4, Carillo 2, Tumaneng 2, De Jesus 0, Abayon 0, Tumabang 0.
NUNS 59 – Akowe 20, Nepacena 12, Alfanta 8, Cartel 7, Pillado 6, Reroma 4, Solomon 1, Yusi 1, Barraca 0, Palanca 0, Usop 0.
Quarterscores: 18-9, 37-30, 49-48, 63-59
Second Game
UE 73 – Alejandro 23, Lagat 16, Sarza 11, Despi 9, Sabroso 8, De Leon 3, Almanza 2, Datumalim 1, Dahino 0, Farochilen 0, Pedrita 0, Correa 0.
Ateneo 70 – Porter 21, Ebdame 10, Ong 7, Lagdamen 6, Domangcas 6, Espinas 5, Delos Santos 4, Urbina 4, De Guzman 4, Madrangca 3, Tupas 0, Prado 0, Suico 0, Asistio 0, Tan 0.
Quarterscores: 15-13, 42-28, 56-48, 73-70.
