UAAP: Tigers pounce on Falcons late, buck Cruz's 33 points

(Updated 2:43pm) Just like their first round encounter, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers simply had more firepower down the stretch than their foes, the Adamson University Soaring Falcons. UST held Adamson without a field goal in the last 5:16 of the fourth quarter and hit crucial free throws, to eke out an 83-79 win, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the 75th season of the UAAP. "It all came down to the breaks of the game," said Tigers head coach Pido Jarencio. "I give credit to Adamson, maganda rin ang tinakbo nila. But in the end, napunta sa amin yung momentum." The Falcons were in the lead courtesy of free throws by Allen Etrone and Jansen Rios, 76-72, 3:39 left, but UST responded with a 10-1 run to jump ahead, 82-77, after a pair of free throws by Aljon Mariano. Adamson however, caught a break when Kevin Ferrer was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on the ensuing inbounds, allowing Jericho Cruz to make two from the line and retain ball possession, 82-79. Needing a triple to force overtime, with 17 seconds left in the fourth, the Falcons blew their chances when Cruz turned the ball over. Eric Camson fouled Clark Bautista with seven ticks remaining, and the shooting guard made 1-of-2 from the line to seal the game for UST. The loss wasted a 33-point performance by Falcon Jericho Cruz, a transferee from the RIzal Technological University. "Ayokong magdahilan dahil sa referee," said Jarencio of the foul called on Ferrer. "Kung may tinawag, tinawag. Baka may nakita silang hindi ko nakita, and the referee's decision is always final." The close loss was similar to the time these two teams tangled in round one. Back then, power forward Eric Camson had a chance to win the game on the last possession, but he missed on his attempt, allowing UST to win 61-60 last August 19. Adamson took an early lead, 3-5, off a triple by Jericho Cruz and a cutting lay-up by Rodney Brondial, but it took a while for both teams to find their offensive rhythm as the early game was marked by turnovers and missed easy shots. After a timeout, UST reeled off a 7-0 run, capped by a Jeric Teng's first three-ball at the 4:19 mark, forcing the Falcons to call a timeout of their own. Teng rifled in another triple after the timeout to ignite the Tigers' offense, but Adamson kept in step as they converted thrice from downtown. EJ Camson was sent to the line with 12 seconds to play and knocked down both charities to knot the score at 16-16 after one period. The Falcons' bench carried them early in the second quarter, as Don Trollano and Allen Etrone dialed in five apiece in an 11-3 run to plant Adamson ahead, 27-19. But again, the Tigers regrouped after a timeout. Aljon Mariano drove to the rim at the 5:30 mark, and Clark Bautista followed shortly with a triple. Their aggressiveness paid off in an 11-2 run as UST scored multiple times at the rim to draw within one, 32-31. However Cruz wasn't finished, and he went on to drain three long-balls in the final three minutes, scoring 13 of the Falcons' last 15 points, to maintain a 42-36 lead over UST at the break. When play resumed, UST clawed back in true Tigers form, starting with back-to-back triples from Teng and Kevin Ferrer to pace an and-one by Brondial and a lay-up by Cruz in the first two minutes. Then the Tigers attacked the rim as Abdul tallied six points in an 11-3 run. Jeric Fortuna and Aljon Mariano placed the finishing touches, putting UST up 53-50, with 3:27 left in the third. An and-one by Cruz with under three minutes to play ended a four-minute dry spell for the Falcons. Similar to the previous quarter, Cruz took over to score six of their last eight in the final minutes. But the Tigers were better prepared as Teng buried a triple en route to scoring five of their last eight. Mariano connected on a floater as time expired to maintain a 61-58 advantage for the Tigers after the third period. The pace hit its peak in the fourth quarter where the Falcons got the necessary stops on defense and attacked in transition. Jansen Rios had seven points, mostly at the rim, in the ensuing 11-2 run. That made it 69-63, Falcons up just over two minutes gone by in the final period, but the Adamson offense deteriorated from that point on, allowing UST to pull off another comeback. Jeric Teng top-scored for the Tigers with 22 points and six rebounds. It was his best performance in the second round, after missing the Tigers’ final three games of the first round due to an injury. Teng had previously went a combined 6-of-27 for 16 total points in their other three second round outings.   Karim Abdul tallied a double-double, gathering 19 points and nine rebounds and three blocks. Forward Aljon Mariano also had an all-around game with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and sniper Clark Bautista came off the bench to provide three triples to make the bulk of his 11 points. "We're actually struggling in the second round," said Jarencio, whose team has just a 2-2 card after the first seven games. "Kung ano man ang mali, we'll figure it out." The Tigers improved to 8-3 to take solo second in the standings. Adamson lost its seventh game in its last eight to fall to 2-9. Adamson out-scored UST on the break (15-9) and made 10-of-24, or 42 percent, from downtown. Jericho Cruz enjoyed a career-high 33 points and eight rebounds on 10-of-18 shooting. Jansen Rios added 12 points and six boards, while Allen Etrone added 11 markers. The Falcons' usual load bearers Camson and Brondial combined for 10 points on 3-of-18 shooting. - AMD, GMA News The scores: UST 83: Teng 22, Abdul 19, Mariano 16, Bautista 11, Ferrer 8, Fortuna 7, Vigil 0, Pe 0, Lo 0, Afuang 0 ADU 79: Cruz 33, Rios 12, Etrone 11, Trollano 7, Camson 5, Brondial 5, Cabrera 5, Agustin 1, Monteclaro 0, Abrigo 0 Quarter scores: 16-16, 36-42, 61-58, 83-79