Adamson University held off a late-game rally by University of the Philippines, taking a thrilling 60-56 victory to remain in solo third place in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Lady Falcons improved to a 4-2 record, gaining a full-game lead over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, who will face the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Sunday. They also have a one-and-a-half game cushion over the Lady Maroons, who dropped to fifth place.
“Before the start of the season, we were tackling each team one-by-one checking their holdovers and how they did the previous season. Ang UP, ang bread and butter from last year was ‘yung pressure defense eh. I think we were able to capitalize on that and I think na-limit namin turnovers namin,” said second-year Lady Falcons head coach Ryan Monteclaro.
Adamson is eyeing its first Final Four stint since 2019 and has already defeated two semifinalists from last season.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The Lady Falcons started strong, leading by 14 points in the second quarter, but the Fighting Maroons struck back.
Christie Bariquit, Shanina Tapawan, Louna Ozar, Achrissa Maw, and Kaye Pesquera trimmed the deficit to just one point, 54-55, with 1:36 remaining in the game.
In a pivotal moment, Cheska Apag scored a layup to restore the Lady Falcons’ three-point cushion.
Later on, Maw then brought UP closer at 56-58 with 19.1 seconds to go. Unfortunately for the Fighting Maroons, Bariquit missed her attempt on the next play, allowing Cris Padilla to seal the win for Adamson with two free throws
Monteclaro praised his team’s composure after a tough 54-72 loss against NU last Wednesday, stating, “I think they were really patient and I’m really happy and proud that this is a testament of maturity for them after a devastating loss against NU in the last game.
“I was saying that we needed to get back at this and we have to stay where we want to be.”
Victoria Adeshina, the Nigerian center who was part of the UAAP Season 85 Mythical team, led Adamson with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Apag followed suit with 12 points, six rebounds, and five steals while Elaine Etang produced 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
This marked the Lady Falcons’ first win over the Fighting Maroons since their 62-61 victory in Season 85 on November 2, 2022.
Adamson will conclude the first round against the University of the East this Sunday at 11:30 AM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
On the other hand, Maw, who fired a career-high 25 points in UP’s 82-77 victory over FEU last Sunday, led the Fighting Maroons with 16 points and seven rebounds
Filipino-French sophomore Ozar contributed 15 points and 13 rebounds but only went 1-of-6 from the free throw line.
UP will next face defending champion University of Santo Tomas in a rematch of last season’s Final Four match-up this Wednesday at 11:30 AM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
AdU 60 – Adeshina 18, Apag 12, Etang 11, Agojo 6, Padilla 5, Limbago 3, Mazo 2, Omopia 2, Bajo 1, Meniano 0, A. Alaba 0, E. Alaba 0.
UP 56 – Maw 16, Ozar 15, Pesquera 8, Bariquit 6, Vingno 5, Tapawan 4, Mendoza 2, Sauz 0, Jimenez 0, Solitario 0, Quinquinio 0, Lozada 0, Barba 0.
Quarterscores: 9-16, 36-24, 44-38, 60-56
