26 September 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – Sean Manganti’s game-winning shot helped Adamson University streak past the University of the Philippines, 69-68, in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Adamson showed great tenacity from the get-go, but UP came alive in the third quarter that saw the lead overturned to their side.
UP outscored the Soaring Falcons in the third, 29-17 for a 10-point lead, 57-47.
However, Adamson was not easily shaken by UP’s outburst and answered back with their own guns – Jerrick Ahanmisi, Jonathan Espeleta at that.
Ahanmisi and Espeleta exploded back-to-back triples for the Falcons for a 10-1 run, taking a slim 67-66 lead with only less than two minutes left on the clock.
Bright Akhuetie answered for the Maroons with only 5.7 ticks, 68-67.
As everyone from the crowd almost accepted that UP handed Adamson its first loss of the season, Manganti proved them wrong by passing through his opponents and shot the winning basket that extended their immaculate streak to 4-0.
Manganti paved the way for Adamson with 18 points, while Ahanmisi added 15 markers. Espeleta finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
On the other hand, Juan Gomez de Liano led with 21 points, while Akhuetie had 20 markers and 20 boards as UP faced their third straight loss in the tournament.
The Scores:
ADAMSON 69 — Manganti 18, Ahanmisi 15, Sarr 11, Espeleta 10, Pingoy 9, Camacho 2, Lastimosa 2, V. Magbuhos 2, Bernardo 0, Catapusan 0, Colonia 0, Mojica 0.
UP 68 — Ju. Gomez de Liano 21, Akhuetie 20, Ja. Gomez de Liano 7, Desiderio 6, Manzo 6, Murrell 4, Jaboneta 2, Prado 2, Dario 0, Gozum 0, Lim 0, Tungcab 0, Vito 0.
Quarter scores: 24-16, 30-28, 47-57, 69-68
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