Adamson dismantles UE
ADAMSON rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 78-54 dismantling of University of the East in the UAAP high school boys basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Baby Falcons unloaded a 30-point third quarter, while holding down the Junior Warriors to nine points in that period to put the game beyond recall.
Bouncing back from last Sunday’s 64-67 defeat to University of Santo Tomas, Adamson improved to a league-best 8-1 record.
Coach Mike Fermin knows that the Baby Falcons got their reality check with the setback they suffered to the Tiger Cubs to open the second round.
“A wake up call yun. Basta ang sa amin lang, being on top, there’s a prize for that. Target ka ng ibang teams. To be able to be consistent, hindi tayo magpabaya. Hindi yung okay lang. Dapat, may sense of urgency everytime we play,” said Fermin.
“Dapat meron kaming goal na gusto naming makuha. Of course the ultimate goal is to win the championship. Pero, the immediate goal is entering the Final Four. The task at hand is winning every game,” he added.
Vince Reyes had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Mark Esperanza contributed 17 points while Earl Medina was the other Adamson player in double digits with 10 points
Earlier, UST followed up its stunning win over Adamson and overcame a Kieffer Alas triple-double with a 78-66 victory over La Salle-Zobel while National University Nazareth School edged out Ateneo, 62-61.
With a 7-2 record, the second-running Bullpups remained a game ahead of the Tiger Cubs, who rose to 6-3 in solo third.
Defending champion Far Eastern University-Diliman seized the fourth spot with a 5-4 card following a 87-61 rout of UP Integrated School.
Andrei Dungo scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half and logged 13 rebounds, six assists and six steals to lead UST in extending its winning streak to three games.
The Junior Archers were very much in the game in the first half, leading by as much as six points, before the Tiger Cubs flipped the switch in the second half.
“Napagalitan ko sila noong halftime kasi masyadong relax at hindi nage-execute ng tama. Yung mindset nila naka-focus sa offense nila, hindi kami dumedepensa ng tama. So naka-adjust naman kami ng third tapos noong dumikit na naman nagpalit kami ng tao kasi yung mindset, mga bata, iniisip nila maka-score kaagad,” said UST coach Manu Iñigo.
“So yung mga natira sa loob, yun ang gumawa ng tamang sistema. Sinunod nila ang sistema kaya nag-stick ako sa kanila,” he added.
Wacky Ludovice scored 14 points while JB Lim also had 14 points to go along with six boards, five steals and four assists for the Tiger Cubs.
Nigeria’s Collins Akowe was at his usual best with 19 points and 22 rebounds while Mac Mac Alfanta also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards and dished out six assists for NUNS.
The Bullpups were able to escape with the win after the Blue Eagles failed to convert on their last play.
Stephen Cabigting led the Baby Tamaraws with 12 points, Veejay Pre and Omar Gordon each scored 11 points while Jedric Daa added 10 points, six assists and five boards.
FEU-D rebounded from last Sunday’s 70-82 loss to NUNS.
“Sinabi ko sa mga boys, maglaro lang sila ng tama at mas galingan nila,” said Baby Tamaraws coach Allan Albano.
Waki Espina had 17 points to lead the Junior Archers as Kieffer Alas struggled offensively with 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Alas though pulled down 16 boards and dished 11 assists for his second triple-double of the season.
The Blue Eagles and the Junior Warriors fell to 4-5.
La Salle-Zobel fell to 2-7, while UPIS remained winless in nine games.
