Jerrick Ahanmisi saves Adamson from embarrassing UST upset

Jerrick Ahanmisi carried the offensive load for the Adamson University, saving the Soaring Falcons from a disaster at the hands of the hapless University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 75-70, Wednesday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“First of all, it’s so hard to play a team like UST since there is no more pressure on them, they’re just playing with a free flowing mind, They have no need for them to push themselves because they’re out of the running for the Final Four,” pointed out second-year Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren.

“Our mentality probably was we were playing a winless [team], that it’s going to be easy sailing for us,” lamented the multi-time champion mentor.

The Soaring Falcons lifted their slate to 7-4, still good for third, while condemning the Growling Tigers to their 14th straight loss beginning from last season.

“We can’t afford to lose any more games,” added Ahanmisi, who tallied a game-high 21 points.

Having this mentality, the sophomore helped Adamson stave off UST. Down 63-64, Ahanmisi knocked down a corner triple to give Adamson an edge with 2:23 left. Jeepy Faundo was able to clean up a Regie Basibas miss to knot things up once more.

“We’re lucky we survived this game, we flirted with disaster,” shared Pumaren.

Sarr also had a hand in the win, converting two free throws to put Adamson up for good with 1:33 left. The Cameroonian student-athlete then swatted away two attempts by Jordan Sta. Ana that led to a floater by Jerrick Ahanmisi with 54 ticks remaining to seal the win.

“I know coach Franz is not happy with the way we played today, it’s okay, we won the game, The problem is how we were able to get the win,” added Sarr, who tallied 12 points and 14 rebounds but committed six turnovers.

Adamson shot just 37 percent from the field. Still, UST — who shot a high 42 percent from the field — could not take advantage of this.

Basibas paced UST with 17 points, while Jeepy Faundo and Steve Akomo tallied double-doubles in the loss. Faundo added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Akomo had 10 points and 17 boards.

Marvin Lee went scoreless in the contest.

Adamson look to make it two in a row when they take on the National University Bulldogs on Sunday, October 29, at 4:00pm, while UST face the De La Salle University Green Archers on the same day at 2:00pm.

The Scores:

ADU (75) – Ahanmisi 21, Sarr 12, Pingoy 7, Ochea 7, Espeleta 6, Manganti 5, Lojera 5, Camacho 4, Manalang 3, Mustre 3, Hill 2, Bernardo 0, Zaldivar 0, Chua 0.

UST (70) – Basibas 17, Faundo 12, Akomo 10, De Guzman 9, Escalambre 8, Sta. Ana 7, Caunan 4, Lee 3, Macasaet 0, Garcia 0, Romero 0.

Quarterscores: 22-19, 37-33, 48-49, 75-70.