By Jun Ray Navarres
AJ Fransman reset his record to help Adamson University eliminate National University, 53-41 and improve to a solo fifth in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The former Enderun College standout delivered a career performance, tallying 18 points, securing 11 rebounds, and facilitating 3 assists to lift the Soaring Falcons against gritty Bulldogs.
Adamson now holds on to a 5-7 record and are only half a game behind fourth-running University of Santo Tomas at 6-7.
“Ang importante lang is buhay pa kami. That’s something we keep telling the players. Before the game, we told them about the alignment of stars. So, pumuporma pero if we don’t do our part, it will not happen. That’s the challenge we told them before the game,” said Adamson head coach Nash Racela.
Adamson went off early to start NU’s demise with a 13-2 run after the tip. The Soaring Falcons limited the Bulldogs to only seven points in the first quarter and extended the gap 28-13 before the end of second quarter.
The guys from Sampaloc, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Jake Figueroa ignited NU’s offense with a three-pointer before the halftime break, fueling a 15-3 run that carried into the third quarter and PJ Palacielo capped the surge, bringing the Bulldogs within striking distance at 28-31.
But Adamson sported a defensive masterclass to pin NU down to only four points as they countered with 15 on the other end to set a comfortable lead of 46-32 midway in the final stanza.
Struggling desperately, the Bulldogs couldn’t break free from Adamson’s suffocating grip, succumbing to defeat at the final buzzer.
“Tulad nga ng sabi ng coaches, pumapabor sa amin ‘yung games… the stars are aligned for us but we just have to do our part. We can only control kung anong nasa control namin so tinake to heart namin yun,” said Fransman.
The rookie is the only guy to put up a double-digit scoring for the San Marcelino-based squad, but it was enough to hold down the Bulldogs.
NU’s hot three-point shooting, which saw them connect on 17 threes in their previous two games, cooled off significantly as they struggled to a 3-of-24 performance from beyond the arc, leading to a loss where Palacielo and Figueroa combined for only 18 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
NU will finish their campaign on Wednesday against top dogs De La Salle University while Adamson looks to take down UST on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Images courtesy of UAAP Media Bureau
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