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

Game starts at 2pm. Page auto-refreshes every 30 seconds. First round meeting: It took a while for the defending champions Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles to shake off the rust on opening weekend, but once they did, they held off the Adamson University Soaring Falcons 73-57, last July 15 at the SM MOA Arena. Adamson actually held a slim 16-15 lead after the first ten minutes, but a 7-0 run by Ateneo gave them the lead, 30-24, for what turned out to be for good. A jumper by Alex Nuyles in the third period cut the Falcons' deficit all the way down to a point, 36-35, a little over three minutes into the quarter, but the Ateneo reserves piled on the points to bury Adamson. Ryan Buenafe came off the Ateneo bench to counter the Adamson super-sub Roider Cabrera, as the former Finals MVP made charities to give his side a 10-point lead with a quarter to play, 55-45. Then the likes of Justin Chua, JP Erram, Tonino Gonzaga and Nico Elorde closed things out in the fourth, with an and-one play by Erram making it 64-48 and drawing a timeout from AdU, 5:32 remaining. The Falcons got a basket out of the timeout, but Buenafe and Elorde struck back, and free throws by starters Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena closed the book on this game. Key stats: Ateneo held Adamson to just 30.7 percent shooting, while firing at a 44.4 percent clip themselves. Part of the reason why they were able to do that was an abundance of easy baskets for the Katipunan-based dribblers. They scored 22 points off the fast break and 15 points off turnovers, while also converting 16-of-22 from the foul line. The Falcons in contrast, had just 10 points each in fast break and turnover points, and made only 8-of-18 free throws. The defending champs also showed off their teamwork, getting a 20-8 advantage in assists. Five of those eight extra passes for Adamson coming from guard Alex Nuyles, who was forced to undergo season-ending surgery late in the first round. AdU will definitely miss that guy's presence, especially against a stacked ADMU line-up that had 22 of their 73 points come from bench sources. Aside from 10 markers from Roider Cabrera, Adamson only got five more points from their reserves. One thing that kept the game from being a total blowout was a huge 21 to 9 advantage by the Falcons on the offensive glass. That resulted in a 14-4 difference in second chance points for Adamson. ADMU needs to: Exploit the small Adamson front court by getting big men like Greg Slaughter and Justin Chua involved early and often. The Falcons will likely try to replicate the UE Red Warriors' zone defense, which paved the way for an upset win by UE over Ateneo, so the Eagles will need to connect from outside, or more likely, score off put-backs. ADU needs to: Clamp down on Ateneo getting to the line and running off the break. This game will likely be a high-scoring affair, and so for the Falcons to keep up, they'll need to hit their free throws, something they've struggled to do all season long. ADMU (9-2) projected starting five: Greg Slaughter (24 points on 10/14 FG, 4/5 FT, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 blocks vs UE), Kiefer Ravena, Juami Tiongson, Nico Salva, Ryan Buenafe ADU (2-9) projected starting five: Eric Camson (19 points on 6/16 FG, 5/8 FT, 14 rebounds, 2 assists vs UP), Jericho Cruz, Rodney Brondial, Jansen Rios, Ryan Monteclaro - AMD, GMA News