FilOil: UE overwhelms Adamson late, advances to semis

(Updated 6:42pm) The University of the East out-dueled the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, 66-58, in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup quarterfinals, Monday at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

The Warriors fought through a 32-32 tie at halftime and focused on the defensive end to take a 52-43 lead into the final period. Rodney Brondial and Jericho Cruz led a 11-0 rally to begin the final frame but the Falcons soon found themselves virtually shut out. The Warriors went on a 13-4 tear to end the game, holding Adamson to only two field goals in the last six minutes.

Boysie Zamar, Red Warriors head coach, said the recent days have been a grind for his team. UE had just came back from Aklan where they played in an invitational tournament, and according to Zamar, had just one day to prepare for the quarterfinals match.

"For nine days we've been away, pero hindi pwedeng dahilan [yon]. Once you put on the uniform of UE, you must be ready," he said.

Despite the tight schedule, Zamar was pleased with his team's progress since he took over in August. "It shows that we have to play as a team. Adamson [under coach Leo Austria] has been there for six years already but at least for eight months, we've been there fighting."

UE, who were pulled up to first in Group B, will play the UST Growling Tigers in the semifinals after they prevailed today against the Arellano Chiefs, 83-73.

Forward Adi Santos was excited by his team's semifinal date against the Tigers. "Matagal na kaming di nakakapaglaro sa ganung games, so siyempre masaya kami."

Roi Sumang paced his team with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Chris Javier tallied 11 points for the Warriors, while Charles Mammie hauled down 14 rebounds to go with six points.

While the Falcons suffered from poor ball movement in the first quarter, UE's Roi Sumang and Chris Javier took turns against a shaky Adamson defense. JM Noble then chipped in a three-pointer to build a 13-nothing lead.

The game slowed down as the Falcons' bigs gave them a brief spurt. Rodney Brondial and Ingrid Sewa took advantage around the post, 15-9, with two and a half minutes to play. But save for a fast break bucket by Brondial with 28 seconds remaining, the Falcons couldn't find a rhythm on offense, and trailed 21-12 after the first period.

Sumang had little help holding off a Falcons rally in the second period, as Roider Cabrera and Harry Petilos nailed triples, and a Sewa slam cut the lead to a single point, 23-22. Adamson's ball movement led to another Petilos trey, and a put-back by Sewa tied the game at 27-apiece with four and a half minutes remaining in the second canto.

The Warriors, whose halfcourt game had been stalled, got some relief when JR Sumido attacked in transition for two. Both teams got a slight lift when Jai Flores and Brondial traded threes, but the Falcons missed a chance to take the lead entering halftime. Jericho Cruz went 2-of-5 from the free throw line in the last two and a half minutes, and Adamson had to settle for a 32-32 deadlock instead.

UE shot 14-of-32 from the field (44 percent) in the first half, while the Falcons made 12-of-42 (29 percent). Turnover points kept Adamson close though, as they sported a 3-12 turnover spread that led to a 12-0 margin in points off miscues.


Sumang and Jansen Rios took turns probing the defense in the third quarter. The Warriors found open teammates, while the Falcons were tested at the free throw line. UE showed some progress against Adamson's defense, getting lay-ups from Javier, Sumido and Gino Jumao-as to inch ahead, 43-38.

Adamson continued to waste chances at the line once the Warriors were tagged with loose ball fouls in the last three minutes, 44-41. However, UE snapped out of the funk using an 8-2 rally, capped by a Javier and-one, to lead 52-49 after three quarters.

The Falcons rallied behind Brondial and Cruz, as the latter made his first field goal of the game on a driving right-hand lay-up just three minutes into the fourth quarter. The duo orchestrated an 11-0 run, capped by an Axel Inigo trey, to seize a 54-52 lead. But in an uncharacteristic turn, Adamson began fouling shooters, which allowed Sumang and Adi Santos to get good looks up close, 60-54, with three minutes to play.

Coming out of a timeout, Adamson engineered a fast break score by Brondial. But in the halfcourt, the Warriors denied them clean looks at the rim. Meanwhile, charities by Ralf Olivares and a pull-up jumper by Sumang widened the margin, 64-56.

With a minute and a half to play, the Warriors kept their cool against a deflated Adamson five. Cruz made a late breakaway lay-up to finalize his team's tally before they bowed out of the tournament.

UE led 53-52 in rebounding and shot 21-of-46 (40 percent) from the field, while the Falcons were held to just a 22-of-76 clip (29 percent). The Warriors also fared better from the line, going 12-of-20 from the line (60 percent) compared to Adamson's 9-of-22 stint (41 percent).

Adamson led in turnover points (21-10) and offensive rebounding (20-10), but the later only yielded an 11-6 margin on second-chance points.

Rodney Brondial led all scorers with 19 points and nine rebounds. Ingrid Sewa added 12 markers, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Jericho Cruz's production was missed as he tallied just six points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. He did, however, secure eight rebounds. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

UE 66: Sumang 18, Javier 11, Sumido 9, Noble 6, Mammie 6, Flores 5, Olivarez 4, Jumao-as 5, Santos 3, Casajeros 0, Bonleon 0, Guion 0, Olayon 0

ADU 58: Brondial 19, Sewa 12, Cabrera 9, Cruz 6, Petilos 6, Inigo 3, Rios 2, Agustin 1, Monteclaro 0, Bernabe 0, Abrigo 0, Mendoza 0, Ochea 0

Quarter scoring: 21-12, 32-32, 52-43, 66-58