UAAP caging: Falcons foil Tigers' Final Four march

Adamson U caught a tired and listless Santo Tomas squad on Sunday to post an 83-64 triumph that was savored not only by the Falcons' fans but the De La Salle followers. "Sa tingin ko pagod sila (Growling Tigers) and over-eager," said Adamson mentor Leo Austria, who was surprised with the way the Tigers played against them at the FilOil Flying V Arena. "Walang trapping sa depensa nila at mababa ang kanilang energy," added Austria regarding the Tigers, who needed a victory to secure a place in the Final Four following their energy-zapping, emotionally-draining 68-64 defeat to De La Salle last Thursday. The Falcons' fourth win in the 72nd season of the UAAP men's basketball spoiled Santo Tomas' (6-7) entry into the semifinals while giving DLSU (5-8) a lifeline into the Final Four. Santo Tomas' chance of entering the next round will depend on the outcome of its match against University of the East on Thursday or on the result of the tussle between National U and DLSU on the same day. If the National U Bulldogs pull a surprise against the Archers, Santo Tomas will earn an outright semifinal berth. However, if the Archers win and Santo Tomas bows to the Red Warriors, DLSU and UST will meet in a playoff to dispute the last semifinal spot. With Adamson trying to post a decent finish in the season, the Falcons immediately took the lead at the first half and zoomed ahead in the last half as Santo Tomas groped for form the whole game. "I told the boys to enjoy the game and just play according to our game plan," added Austria, whose boys posted their first win over UST since their 74-62 triumph back on Aug. 3, 2006. And the Falcons did just what Austria prescribed. Playmakers Jerick Canda, Leo Canuday and wingman Alex Nuyles all scored in double figures and personal bests with their 18, 16, and 14 markers respectively. Canuday even made four of his seven attempts from the three point country, finishing with eight rebounds, a steal and a block. Canada capped his brilliant performance with eight boards, seven assists and five steals while Nuyles spiked his game with six boards, three assists and four of the Falcons' 10 blocks. While the Falcons flourished inside the shaded area and from the perimeter, the Growling Tigers failed to find their range and sank just 18 of their 63 attempts for a meager 28.6 percent success rate from the field. Dylan Ababou posted a decent 13-point game which he spiked with three assists, three blocks and a steal and teammate Khasim Mirza contributed just four markers although he grabbed 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. Surprisingly, it was Clark Bautista who topscored for UST with his 14 markers in 21 minutes. - Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV