Edison Jordan and Fran Flores combined in the clutch as Adamson University held off Ateneo de Manila University’s late rally, securing an 80-75 victory and preserving its unbeaten record in the UAAP Season 88 Junior High School Basketball Tournament on Sunday morning at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
To withstand the late-game heroics of Blue Eagles’ main gunner Sky Jazul, the Baby Falcons leaned on timely contributions from Jordan, Flores, and Vengcs Vengco in the final minutes.
The trio earned Adamson its third straight win, matching its total victories from last season’s three-win campaign.
“Regarding the character of the team, they have this comeback mentality. Sometimes, there just needs to be a wake-up call. I guess when Jazul was able to make 10 points in the first quarter and baskets sa dulo, Medyo nagwake-up doon mga bata and we were able to control Jazul,” Baby Falcons head coach Dante Tongco said.
Trailing 64-56 entering the final quarter, Ateneo opened the fourth with a crucial 9-4 run, highlighted by back-to-back layups from Jazul and JD Juangco. That cut the deficit to a single point at 68-67 with 4:48 left.
Adamson stayed composed down the stretch, though. Two triples from Jordan and an inside basket by Flores pushed the Baby Falcons back up to a nine-point lead, 76-67, with 3:28 remaining.
The Blue Eagles mounted a late push, with Jazul sparking a five-point run to trim the gap to 76-72. But consecutive layups from Vengco restored an 80-73 buffer with 1:20 remaining, sealing Adamson’s dream start to Season 88.
Flores continued to impress with 20 points, five assists, five steals, and three rebounds, while Vengco dominated inside, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
Seb Esma contributed 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 10 rebounds, three steals, and a block. Jordan added 12 points, six assists, three rebounds, three steals, and one block.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For Ateneo, Jazul poured in 25 points, six assists, and two steals, while Juangco shone in his return with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, four steals, three assists, and two rebounds.
The Blue Eagles remain winless through three games.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Earlier, University of the East dominated University of the Philippines Integrated School, running away with an 88-56 victory to claim sole possession of fourth place in the eight-team field.
Fresh off a narrow win over Ateneo last Wednesday, the Junior Warriors were unstoppable this time, sprinting to a 48-24 halftime lead and maintaining control throughout the contest.
Despite building a commanding lead in the first half, UE did not let up. Team captain Goodluck Okebata, James Mesa, and Juan Mallabo led the charge in the third quarter, pushing UP into a 74-39 hole entering the final period.
The Junior Warriors imposed their will on both ends, converting 36 of 75 field-goal attempts, grabbing 52 rebounds, and adding 12 steals and six blocks en route to a dominant 32-point win.
“Again, we emphasized the mismatches coming into this game. I think we have advantage sa big men namin, so we operated in the paint. I wanna point out our shooting din sa three-point territory, we have to improve that heading into the next games,” UE head coach Matthew Sia said.
The Junior Warriors scored 62 points in the paint but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 3-of-20 shots.
Okebata led the way with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, along with eight rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and three steals. Mesa added 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds, two assists, and one block.
Mark Perdigon contributed 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Mallabo chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For UP, John Addatu paced the team with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal, while Kean Poquiz was limited to 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, adding two rebounds and one assist.
The Scores:
First Game
UE (88) – Okebata 18, Mesa 16, Perdigon 13, Mallabo 12, Ancheta 8, Delos Santos 6, Aguilar 6, Roxas 4, Mercado 2, Felizmenia 2, Pontipedra 1.
UPIS (56) – Addatu 12, Poquiz 11, Bautista 9, Lugatiman 8, Labao 7, Manguerra 4, Rosete 3, Okebata 2, Baldovino 0, Floirendo 0, Sebastian 0.
Quarterscores: 30-16, 48-24, 74-39, 88-56.
Second Game
AdU (80) – Flores 20, Vengco 14, Esma 14, Jordan 12, Iledan 8, Del Monte 5, Vargas 5, Padrejuan 2, Abas 0, Maycong 0.
Ateneo (75) – Jazul 25, Juangco 14, Dela Rosa 11, Castro 8, Bernarte 6, Ngo 5, David 3, Divinagracia 2, Hwang 1, Ylen 0, Llavore 0, Yoro 0.
Quarterscores: 23-12, 39-39, 64-56, 80-75.
