UAAP: UE vs ADU preview and live-scoring (round 2)

Game starts at 2pm. Page auto-refreshes every 30 seconds. First round meeting: The University of the East Red Warriors escaped with their first win of the 75th UAAP season, 71-66, when the Adamson University Soaring Falcons shot themselves out of the game, last August 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. A low-scoring first quarter saw both sides score just nine points, but things heated up soon after for UE, as JR Sumido and Gene Belleza combined to match Adamson's output of 12 points, while the rest of the Red Warriors scored nine more markers for a 30-21 halftime lead. UE kept up the pressure out of the intermission, forging their biggest lead of the game, 47-29, with 3:08 left in the third, but Adamson got to the line on their next five possessions, and Rodney Brondial scored down low with five seconds left, to make it a more manageable 52-38 deficit with ten minutes left to play. Triples by Eric Camson and Roider Cabrera made it a 10-point game barely a minute gone by, 54-44, but the Falcons' big break came on two unsportsmanlike fouls, one by Sumido, and one by Adrian Santos. That began another rash of charities which made it a three-point game, 61-58, with 2:40 left to play. However, Adamson wasn't hitting an accurate enough clip, especially down the stretch. They proceeded to miss six straight charities, a streak that was finally stopped by Eric Camson, to pull them within three, 63-60. The two sides then exchanged scores until there were just seconds left, with the difference still at three, 69-66, in favor of UE. Out of a timeout, Sumang drew a foul from Ar-raouf Julkipli and dutifully made his free throws. That gave Adamson eight seconds left to make something happen, but Adamson had nothing in their tank, as they bowed out, defeated. Key stats: Adamson is the worst team in the league in terms of shooting free throws, and games like this one show why. In the first half, they were 5-of-11 on freebies or 45.5 percent, and though they improved slightly by hitting 14-of-24 or 58.3 percent in the final period, the six straight missed freebies with under two minutes left did them in. They could have tied the game had they made half, or taken the lead if they converted more. On the other side of the court was Roi Sumang, who stepped up big time in the clutch. He had just two points at the break, making only 1-of-4 field goals in 12 minutes, but he came out revitalized to play the entire second half, scoring eight points in each of the remaining two quarters. Right now, UE is on a roll, winning two of their last three, including a huge upset win over the defending champions Ateneo. Interim head coach Boysie Zamar has turned this squad around by putting the onus to score squarely on his starting five, and guys like Chris Javier and Gene Belleza have responded in kind. In that three-game span, UE is shooting 30.65 percent from downtown, 39.45 percent from the field. The Falcons nearly pulled off an upset against Ateneo as well, losing by just seven points late in the fourth quarter. The Falcons were a blistering 45.5 percent from downtown and 44.6 percent overall from the field, but all their focus on offense meant that their defense was not as sharp. They surrendered 58.2 percent shooting to ADMU. UE needs to: Exploit their advantage in the backcourt. Adamson has a first-rate stopper in Jericho Cruz, but UE has two must-stop players in Roi Sumang and Gene Belleza. Whoever Cruz isn't guarding should have the upper-hand, no matter what the match-up is. And if Cruz is expending a ton of energy on defense, he won't have a lot remaining on defense. Things will also get easier if Chris Javier has a big game, more so if he's hitting mid-range jumpers, to draw Rodney Brondial (1.6 blockers per game, fourth in the UAAP) away from the rim. ADU needs to: Get Camson and Brondial involved from the start, and feed them the ball all throughout the game. Adamson will have the advantage up front, even more so against UE, which gives up the most points in the pain (36.7 per game). Even if UE goes to a zone defense to try to stop the ball from getting inside, Camson can still step out and hit the perimeter jumper, which he did with deadly efficiency in their last game (6/10 3pt). UE (3-9) projected starting-five: Roi Sumang (27 points on 11/22 FG, 2/3 FT, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal vs FEU), Gene Belleza, JR Sumido, Chris Javier, Adrian Santos ADU (2-10) projected starting-five: Eric Camson (26 points, 10/19 FG, 0/3 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals vs ADMU), Jericho Cruz, Ryan Monteclaro, Rodney Brondial, Jansen Rios - AMD, GMA News