Adamson dominates NU to snap two-game skid

After ending their first round stint with back-to-back losses, the Adamson Soaring Falcons opened the second round with a dominating win against the NU Bulldogs, 69-58, Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It was a close game in the final period as Adamson made 15 against NU's 13 points. The Bulldogs countered the Falcons with a 22-point performance during the third period, cutting their deficit to nine, 54-45.

The boys of San Marcelino dominated the first half, 42-23, thanks to a scoring spree during the first quarter, 27 against the Bulldogs' 11 points.

"Those two games that we lost is just a minor bump along the way. We're still gonna continue our journey," Adamson coach Franz Pumaren said.

"We played perfect first half, come second half, we just went through the motion," the multi-titled mentor added.

Jerrick Ahanmisi led the Falcons in scoring with 21 points, while big man Papi Sarr registered 16 points and 11 rebounds. Veteran Sean Manganti made 11 markers.

"I think it's a good win for us, for a bounce back game since we lost two games in a row," Ahanmisi said.

Manganti added they need to improve their consistency, a concern Pumaren related during their loss against La Salle last Saturday.

"We just have to be consistent, avoid lapses down the stretch. If you look at the last game against La Salle, we completely dominated the stats, it's just that, you know, breaks of the game, and some lapses during the course of the game," Pumaren said.

The Falcons now sit atop of the standings with six wins and two losses, and for Pumaren, the loss against DLSU is a learning experience moving forward for the Falcons.

"It's a learning experience for us. It's the first time we're considered as a seeded team. Teams look at us in a different manner already. They prepare for us in a different manner," he added.

The Falcons will face the Archers again on Saturday.

"I guess everybody's itching to get even with them, which is the good side. Down side is it's the same team that we're playing within one week. It's an incentive for us to correct the mistakes during the last games," Pumaren said.

Meanwhile, Dave Ildefonso led the NU Bulldogs with 21 points. The Sampaloc-based team, which dropped to 2-6, will face the UST Growling Tigers on Sunday.

Scores:

AdU (69) - Ahanmisi - 21, Sarr - 16, Manganti - 11, Espeleta - 8, Lastimosa - 5, Magbuhos -4, Camacho - 2, Mojica - 2, Catapusan - 0, Colonia - 0, Macion - 0, Pingoy - 0, Zaldivar - 0.

NU (58) - Ildefonso D. - 21, Gaye - 8, Diputado - 6, Clemente - 5, Ildefonso S. - 5, Yu - 3, Gallego - 2, Joson - 2, Malonzo - 2, Rike - 2, Sinclair - 2, Aquino - 0, Galinato - 0, Morido - 0, Tibayan -0.

— RSJ, GMA News