20 October 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – After three years of winless campaign against De La Salle University, Adamson University finally had their revenge on Saturday after taking a 57-50 win over the Green Archers to clinch the top spot again in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Adamson was hot on their heels from the get go and limited the Green Archers to only two points, which is the lowest score recorded in a period since 2003 according to UAAP statistician Pong Ducanes, thanks to the Soaring Falcons’ defense.
The Falcons’ scored back-to-back points to open the second quarter with an 11-point lead, 13-2,.
However, Mark Dyke and Justine Baltazar’s baskets must have woken up the Green Archers from a hapless first quarter to cut the deficit to seven, 28-21.
Adamson continued their tough defense and relied on shooter Sean Manganti to do the job in the third quarter to keep them afloat with a six-point cushion, 41-35.
Aljun Melecio paved the way for La Salle and shot a booming triple in the last six minutes of the game to inch within one, 46-47.
Manganti did not wait long enough and drained his own three for the Falcons, followed by an inside basket from Jerie Pingoy to extend their lead once again to seven, 53-46.
Time ran out as Adamson drained the last points needed to clinch the win.
Manganti rose for Adamson with a double-double record of 19 points and 11 rebounds on top of four assists and two steals, while big man Papi Sarr added another double-double of 12 markers and 16 boards.
Jerrick Ahanmisi had a tough time scoring for Adamson and was limited to only nine points.
Om the other hand, Melecio led La Salle with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Encho Serrano had 10 points and five rebounds.
The Scores:
ADAMSON 57 – Manganti 19, Sarr 12, Ahanmisi 9, Pingoy 6, Camacho 4, Lastimosa 3, Magbuhos 2, Zaldivar 2, Catapusan 0, Mojica 0, Espeleta 0, Bernardo 0
LA SALLE 50 – Melecio 18, Serrano 10, Baltazar 6, Santillan 5, Montalbo 4, Dyke 4, Manuel 2, Caracut 1, Bates 0, Corteza 0
QUARTER SCORES: 9-2, 28-21, 41-35, 57-50
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