FilOil: Falcons fall to AU Chiefs

The Arellano University Chiefs got their fourth straight win on Saturday as they defeated the Adamson University Falcons, 80-71, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. The Chiefs are now just one game behind the National University Bulldogs, kingpins of Group A with a 5-0 slate. The loss evens Adamson’s sole win. The Chiefs shot a hot 50 percent in the game, leading by as much as 20 points. The Falcons managed to cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter, but Koy Banal and his boys hung tough to keep the Falcons honest. Four different Arellano players scored in double digits to lead their team to a victory over the hard-fighting Falcons. Marquee player James Forrester led his team with 16 points and six rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting, while reserve forward Allen Enriquez added 13 points, shooting at the same clip as Forrester. Guard Nard Pinto and forward Ralph Salcedo added ten points apiece. AU made 31 of their 62 shots, good enough for a 50 percent clip, while making 16-of-24 of their foul shots. They also capitalized on points off turnovers, scoring 24 markers on 23 Adamson turnovers. Arellano Coach Koy Banal fielded James Forrester, Ralph Salcedo, Nard Pinto, Levi Hernandez, and Prince Caperal, while Adamson Coach Leo Austria opted to start Jericho Cruz, Ryan Monteclaro, Don Trollano, Michael Agustin, and Rodney Brondial. Both teams had a good start offensively, playing a little tit-for-tat until the Falcons’ ball-handling hit a snag. After an elbow jumper by Forrester, the Falcons turned the ball over twice on two straight possessions, giving Arellano center Prince Caperal and forward Levi Hernandez two straight lay-ins. The Chiefs led by seven at that point, 16-9. The Falcons’ offensive woes continued, scoring only on an Axel Inigo triple in the last three minutes of the first quarter. Cameroonian center Ingrid Sewa was denied easy passes inside, and Adamson’s wingmen failed to hit their shots. A pair of free throws by Gio Jalalon capped the first quarter with AU boasting of a double-digit lead, 25-14. The Chiefs continued punishing Adamson’s defense, which still looked dazed and confused. After a field goal by Adamson’s Dawn Ochea in the opening minute of the second quarter, the Chiefs went on a 9-0 run courtesy of Ralph Salcedo and three of his teammates. Adamson was only able to score again after a split by Monteclaro at the charity stripe. A short jump shot by Arellano guard Nard Pinto gave the Chiefs their biggest lead of the half at 20 points, 37-17, as Adamson continued to fail to find a shot against Arellano’s forest of long and lanky defenders. The Falcons finally discovered a rhythm as the half came to a close, going on an 8-0 run before a hook shot by Caperal over Sewa upped the Chiefs's tally to 43-25. Adamson then scored four straight points on drives from Cruz and Trollano to cut the lead to 43-29 at the half. The Chiefs had a hot-shooting first half, making 18 of their 28 attempts (64 percent). They also converted 13 Adamson turnovers into 16 turnover points. Forrester led his team in the first half with 11 points, followed by Salcedo with eight and Enriquez with six. The 6’10” Sewa started off the third quarter with aplomb, finishing with a thunderous dunk in the first minute of play, 43-31. The Chiefs still kept their momentum flowing though, as Hernandez scored four straight points after the dunk to put them back up, 47-31. A pair of fast break baskets by Adamson’s Cruz then cut the lead to 11 points, 48-37. The Chiefs did a good job of keeping the lead at 15 points and above for most of the period, countering every basket that Adamson made. The Falcons looked tired, especially Cruz and Brondial, who played most or entire of the third quarter. The effort paid off slightly, as a jumper by Monteclaro and a lay-in by Cruz cut the lead to 13 at the end of the third, 66-53. The Falcons out-rebounded their foes 19-15, but had a hard time shooting the ball, making only 11 of their 30 attempts. They also failed to make their foul shots, shooting five out of 12, en route to a 42 percent clip. Adamson, however, had 11 second-chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. Cruz and Sewa had seven points apiece, followed by Rodney Brondial with six points and seven rebounds. Coach Austria and his boys turned the blowout into a ballgame, going on a spirited 9-3 run to open the fourth quarter, starting off with an impossible shot and one by starter Marc Agustin, followed by a couple of lay-ups by Jericho Cruz and a tip-in by Sewa, 69-62. A jumper by Salcedo stopped the bleeding for the Chiefs, whose 13-point lead melted to just seven points. The Chiefs, however, did a masterful job of keeping the lead at a steady seven-point distance in the following three minutes, still going up by nine after a short stab by Keith Agovida inside. Sewa scored four straight points after the 3:33 mark, watering down what seemed like an insurmountable lead to just five points, 75-70. An out of bounds turnover by Agovida gave the ball to Adamson, but guard Don Trollano committed the same costly mistake for Adamson, giving the Falcons roughly two minutes to sink their talons deeper into the lead. Another unfortunate gaffe came in Adamson’s way as Monteclaro fouled Pinto, who converted his charities into two easy points. The Chiefs went back up by seven, 77-70, and Adamson failed to convert anything from the field. A dunk by Forrester secured the lead for the Chiefs, 80-71. The Falcons struggled with their ball-handling and passing, as they logged only eight assists against 23 turnovers. They made 27 out of their 66 shots, good enough for a respectable 41 percent, but struggled mightily from the foul line, making only 14-of-32 tries (44 percent). Cruz scored 24 points on 10-of-24 shooting, while recording five boards, three assists, and three steals. Following him were Sewa and Brondial who scored 16 and 15 points respectively, while grabbing 13 rebounds apiece. The Falcons were without marquee player Roider Cabrera, who sprained his ankle in a tough win over the Far Eastern University back on April 20. Cabrera has not played since then. Also spending time in the injured reserves list was sharpshooting forward Francis Donahue. The San Marcelino-based squad out-rebounded their foes, 42-39, and converted 25 offensive rebounds to 22 second-chance points. Prior to the victory, a handful of Arellano players have been meting out offensive contributions for the team. Aside from Forrester (11.3 PPG in three games), Agovida has been a spark offensively, contributing 10.7 PPG on-and-off the bench for the Chiefs. The Falcons get to fly to a better record on Monday, May 6, as they square off against the unbeaten Bulldogs at 2:30pm, while the Chiefs face Terrence Romeo and the Far Eastern U Tamaraws on Wednesday, May 8, at 12:45pm.- RAF, GMA News