ADAMSON, toiling at the fifth and sixth places most of the season, scored a 80-76 victory over La Salle to secure the remaining Final Four berth in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament last night before 7,831 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Jerom Lastimosa proved to be clutch for the Falcons with 22 points on 40% three-point shooting and dished out six assists.

The Dumaguete native scored or assisted on 24 of the 42 points of Adamson in the second Half.

“It feels great to be in the Final Four,” said Falcons mentor Nash Racela in the post-game television interview. “Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Magta-trabaho pa kami.”

Up next for Adamson is a Final Four match up with top-ranked Ateneo at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Falcons are 0-2 against the Blue Eagles in the elimination round.

The other semis pairing pits defending champion University of the Philippines and No. 3 National University at 2 p.m.

Joshua Yerro added 13 points and six rebounds while AP Manlapaz and Lenda Douanga contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Adamson.

Evan Nelle had 22 points but missed completely a three-pointer in the 12 final seconds that could have tied the game at 79-79 while Mark Nonoy added 15 points for the Green Archers.

In the women’s division, La Salle scored a 74-69 victory over University of Santo Tomas to seize the last Finals berth.

Bettina Binaohan scored two free throws to give the Lady Archers the upper hand at 71-69 and the Taft-based side put on the defensive clamps on the Tigresses in the final 31.3 seconds to prevail in the do-or-die contest.

It was a sorry loss for UST, which forced the game’s final deadlock at 69-69, on a Rocel Dionisio lay-up in the final 45 seconds only it could not get the needed breaks down the stretch.

Fina Niantcho had a double-double outing with 18 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, Binaohan was also solid for La Salle with 17 points, 10 boards, two assists and two steals while Ameng Torres contributed 16 points, eight boards and four assists.

The Lady Archers will face the Lady Bulldogs in the best-of-three championship series starting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. La Salle, which last made it to the league’s biggest stage in 2016, ended NU’s historic 108-game winning streak with a 61-57 overtime win in the second round.

Agatha Bron led the Tigresses with 13 points while projected season MVP Eka Soriano chipped in 10 points, nine boards, six assists and three steals.

The scores:

First Game (Women)

DLSU (74) — Niantcho 18, Binaohan 17, Torres 16, Sario 12, Jimenez 5, Dalisay 3, Arciga 2, De La Paz 1, Camba 0, Ahmed 0, Espinas 0.
UST (69) — Bron 13, Soriano 10, Dionisio 9, Villasin 8, Tacatac 8, Pangilinan 8, Ambos 8, Serrano 3, Santos 2.
Quarterscores: 21-18, 38-34, 57-50, 74-69

Second Game (Men)

AdU (80) — Lastimosa 22, Yerro 13, Manlapaz 11, Douanga 10, Manzano 8, Sabandal 8, Jaymalin 3, Hanapi 2, Flowers 2, Torres 1, V. Magbuhos 0, Colonia 0, Barasi 0, Fuentebella 0.
DLSU (76) — Nelle 22, Nonoy 15, B. Phillips 11, Austria 11, Cortez 10, Abadam 3, Macalalag 2, Buensalida 2, Estacio 0, Nwankwo 0, Manuel 0.
Quarterscores: 20-27, 38-48, 59-60, 80-76