Coming off two straight losses at the hands of the FEU Tamaraws and the DLSU Green Archers, the Adamson University Soaring Falcons utilized a strong start to send the National University Bulldogs crashing back down, 69-58, Wednesday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
With the win, Adamson snapped their two-game skid to rise to 6-2. On the other hand, NU – a team coming off an 88-61 rout of the UE Red Warriors just last Saturday – dropped to 2-6.
“Those two games that we lost, it was just mind-boggling. It was like a pothole. We are still going to continue with this journey. We just had to play consistent basketball,” said third-year Soaring Falcons head coach Franz Pumaren.
And it was the duo of Jerrick Ahanmisi and Papi Sarr who led the demolition.
By the first stanza alone, Ahanmisi and Sarr had already scored 12 and 11 points respectively. NU only had 11 points during that same span.
The Soaring Falcons would lead by as much as 25 points, 42-17, with 2:08 left in the half.
Ahanmisi, a third-year guard, finished with 21 points, spiked by three triples. Sarr, who is in his final year, notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
But Dave Ildefonso made sure that the Bulldogs wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“This game, we played good in the first half but second half, we just went through the motion. But of course, NU played much better in the second half,” added Pumaren.
The super rookie scored 12 of his 21 points during the third canto to give NU a chance. A jumper by Joshua Sinclair sliced the lead down to just seven early in the final frame.
Then big baskets by Ahanmisi, Sean Manganti, and Junjun Espeleta bucked the Bulldogs’ comeback attempt to give Adamson the bounce-back win.
Ildefonso was the sole double-digit scorer for NU.
John Lloyd Clemente, who had 21 points against UE, was limited to just five points on 5-for-9 shooting. Issa Gaye and Shaun Ildefonso, who combined for 24 points in that same game, only had eight and five points respectively.
Adamson look to build another streak when they face the De La Salle University Green Archers on Saturday, October 20, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Meanwhile, NU will face the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Sunday, October 21, at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
ADU 69 – Ahanmisi 21, Sarr 16, Manganti 11, Espeleta 8, Lastimosa 5, Magbuhos 4, Camacho 2, Mojica 2, Pingoy 0, Catapusan 0, Zaldivar 0, Colonia 0, Macion 0
NU 58 – Ildefonso D 21, Gaye 8, Diputado 6, Clemente 5, Ildefonso S 5, Yu 3, Rike 2, Joson 2, Sinclair 2, Malonzo 2, Gallego 2, Aquino 0, Morido 0, Galinato 0, Tibayan 0
Quarterscores: 27-11, 42-23, 54-45, 69-58
