Adamson pulls out a win over feisty DLSU Archers, 70-68
A year ago, this would have been one of those games Adamson would choke away. Good thing these aren’t last year’s Adamson Falcons. This year’s team has showed great endgame poise, and they continued to do so in this game, overcoming a 7-point third quarter DLSU lead in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
Forward Jan Colina finally had his breakout game for the Falcons, as he compiled nearly a double-double, with 16 points, 8 rebounds and a block. Eric Camson joined him in the frontcourt and chipped in 15 and 8, plus 2 more rejections. Their floor general, Lester Alvarez, snapped a scoring drought in the fourth to total 12 points, 7 assists and 4 steals, while Guam native William Stinnett had 10 points, all in the first half. The quartet managed to overcome a poor showing by Alex Nuyles, who managed just 7 after averaging 21 in his last two outings.
The La Salle Green Archers on the other hand, find themselves where they were last season, with an identical 4-3 record. Though they had aspirations of second place, their rookie and sophomore laden team’s execution was called into question in the dying moments of the game.
Luigi Dela Paz, one of the aforementioned rookies, led the green shirts with 13 points, but committed 6 turnovers. Two sophomores, Joseph Tolentino and Sam Marata, added 10 each, but Tolentino was saddled with 5 miscues himself. Veteran Joshua Webb added 10 as well, but precious little else in the other categories.
After relying mostly on man-to-man defense in the first round, Adamson coach Leo Austria decided to switch things up and ordered his charges to unleash a 32-3 zone at the start of the first. The scheme worked and La Salle opened the fourth with 6 straight turnovers, allowing the lead to be reduced to a solitary point, 58-59, thanks to a Lester Alvarez lay-up.
The two teams would swap baskets from that point on, with La Salle’s last lead coming off a Joel Tolentino drive, 67-68. Though the Archers would force a travel on the ensuing play, Tolentino would miss a triple, and the outlet pass found Alex Nuyles, who drove, and managed a nifty up and under lay-up, to put his team ahead 69-68, 35 seconds left. Once again, with the ball in his hands, Tolentino would drive into an open lane, but opt to pop up for the jumper, which he missed, instead of hitting the open man. With the game still in doubt, the Archers would eventually put Eric Camson on the line. The burly forward, who cost his team a first round victory against DLSU last season, split the charities, 70-68.
Adamson would spend its two fouls to give, reducing the playing time to just 5.6 seconds left. La Salle coach DindoPumaren at this point opted to pull out marksman Sam Marata to insert Joshua Webb, indicating that he was opting to tie, rather than win outright. Unfortunately for them, the play they wanted to run didn’t materialize, and the Falcons were able to gut this game out.
Warriors, Coach Chongson, implode, to give the Eagles an 80-73 victory
The UE Red Warriors were fired up, and ready to not only get revenge on the team that denied them last season’s championship, but also to earn win #2. For nearly 38 minutes, it looked like they were about to pull it off. Unfortunately for them, the team shot itself in the proverbial foot, and Ateneo was able to tie for second place along with fellow avians, the Adamson Falcons.
Eric Salamat had his best scoring game of the season, with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, while big men NicoSalvaand Justin Chua added 13 a piece. Kirk Long joined the scoring party in the fourth quarter to finish with 10, and JuamiTiongson had ice water in his veins, scoring all four of his points during a key stretch in the last quarter.
UE’sPaul Lee gave a good account of himself, tallying 16 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists but he was off late in the fourth when it mattered. Big man Ken Acibar added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Sam Razon and Raphy Reyes scored 11 each.
In the third quarter, after a Salva jumper tied things at 44-all, UE unleashed seven unanswered points, 44-51, capped off by a Sam Razon and-one play. Salamat and Salva would team up to make it just two points, 51-53, but another and-one play, this time by Paul Lee, extended it back to 51-57 as the third quarter wound down.
Normally Ateneo gets back into games by attacking the opponents’ defense and getting to the line, but on a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Ateneans decided to make it rain inside as well, unleashing a flurry of triples to tie things at 69-all. Ateneo didn’t stop there, scoring 6 straight points to put the lead at 75-69. Kit Rosopa would break the run with a score, 75-71, but Tiongson would get it right back, 77-71, 1:06 left in the game.
Though Lee would miss a triple on the subsequent possession, he was there to swipe at the inbounder, knocking it aside for a layup to cut the lead to just 77-73. That would turn out to be it for UE though, as after a timeout where Coach Chongson instructed his wards to pressure first, before fouling if an opening couldn’t be found.
As soon as the ball was inbounded to NicoSalva though, Lee was hit with a foul, to Chongson’s disbelief. So dumbfounded was Chongson that he fell to his knees and begged the refs for an explanation, only to get a technical foul for his antics. Though Ateneo would only convert on 1 of the 4 charities, the refs had robbed the Warriors of their fire, and crisp ball movement resulted in Kirk Long scored on a double-clutch 80-73. UE would miss a desultory try, and that was it for them and for the first round of the 73rd season of the UAAP.
After seven games, FEU now lords it over the other teams with an immaculate 7-0 record, while Adamson and Ateneo rank second, with identical 5-2 slates. The top four is rounded out by DLSU, with a 4-3 card, and falling just short are NU and UST at 3-4. UE is second to the last at 1-6, and UP brings up the rear, having gone winless in their first round of assignments.
Scoring:
Adamson 70 -Colina 16, Camson 15, Alvarez 12, Stinnett 10, Nuyles 7, Galinato 5, Canada 3, Lozada 2, Manyara 0, Etrone 0, Brondial 0, Cabrera 0.
La Salle 68 - De la Paz 13, Webb 10, Tolentino 10, Marata 10, Mendoza 8, Andrada 8, Atkins 3, Tampus 2, Paredes 2, Villanueva 2, Vosotros 0, Elorde 0, Ferdinand 0.
Quarter score: 15-18; 32-32; 52-59; 70-68.
Ateneo 80 -Salamat 23, Salva 13, Chua 13, Long 10, dela Cruz 6, Monfort 6, Tiongson 4, Austria 3, Gonzaga 2, Escueta 0, Erram 0, Golla 0, Buenafe 0.
UE 73 - Lee 16, Acibar 14, Razon 11, Reyes 11, Martinez 8, Zamar 6, Rosopa 4, Tagarda 3, Enguio 0.
Quarter score: 19-17; 36-37; 51-57; 80-73.
