UAAP: Falcons soar late, upend Bulldogs

An 8-2 run in the final three and a half minutes of the game gave the Adamson Soaring Falcons a 68-66 victory against the National University Bulldogs on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena, in season 76 of the UAAP.
 
With the win, the Soaring Falcons claimed the third spot in the standings, boosting their record to 3-2, while the Bulldogs fall to .500 with a 3-3 record.

[Review the play-by-play of this game here]

"This is a really exciting season for the UAAP. We’re fortunate because we’re able to win against NU because we know NU is really deserving to win,” said Adamson mentor Leo Austria. “May suwerte lang talaga kami. Thank God Roño missed that. All our hard work did not go to waste”.

National U had a chance to steal the game after swingman Roider Cabrera missed two free throws with 14 seconds left on the clock. NU point man Robin Roño found himself wide open in the right corner, but lady luck sided with coach Austria and his Falcons, as the shot bounced off the rim and into the hands of an Adamson rebounder.

Late in the game, Adamson abandoned the slow pace it had employed and pumped more fuel into their offense. Reserve Don Trollano scored all of his seven points in the fourth to keep the Falcons afloat, getting his team to within one, 61-60. Following two Emmanuel Mbe charities, the Falcons went on an 8-0 blitz , including back-to-back hits by King Falcon Jericho Cruz, to distance themselves from the ‘Dogs for good.

“Against Ateneo, I don't know what happened to us,” said coach Austria, referring to their previous outing, a loss to the defending champions. “Today, everyone was so focused, everyone wanted to win.”

Cruz tallied 31 points, five rebounds, and three assists, with 12 of those points coming in the third quarter to keep his Falcons in the game. Cabrera, despite his crucial misses, added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Sewa only had six points, but hauled in 15 rebounds.

Both team’s hoops seemed to have a lid on them early, as neither of them scored until the 7:45 mark, when forward Jansen Rios hit a jumper off glass. The Falcons led early as they held a 6-2 edge, urging NU coach Eric Altamirano to call his first timeout after Marc Agustin sank two long jumpers. Efforts from Will Porter and Mbe then leveled the game at 8-8.

Teams had a hard time getting ahead of each other, until a lay-in by Ryan Monteclaro and a post move by Sewa gave Adamson a four-point lead. Villamor dropped two after a lay-up, and both Harry Petilos and Paolo Javelona swished in triples for their respective teams as the first frame ended at 17-15 for Adamson.

The Falcons bumped their lead to six with contributions from rookie Axel Iñigo, Cruz, and Sewa, but Roño sliced his team's deficit with a triple, 22-19. Cabrera and the Falcons found themselves in the driver’s seat again as the 6’4” gunslinger scored five straight markers to make it a 27-19 game.

The Bulldogs however chomped away at the lead, cutting it to two points after a lay-up by Jeoffrey Javilloar capped off a 9-3 run. Adamson reserve guard Ar-Raouf Julkipli however banked in a tough lay-in to extend the Falcons’ lead to four at the half, 32-38.

Adamson owed its halftime lead to their shooting, making 50 percent of their attempts (14-28). They also eked out six points off nine NU turnovers.

Cabrera top-scored for his team at the half with seven on 3-4 shooting, followed by Sewa, Rios, and Agustin with four apiece.

The Bulldogs were rebounding the ball exceptionally well, even with Sewa in the middle, as they ended the half with a 27-19 advantage on the glass. This was offset by their poor shooting, as they mostly settled for long-range jumpers due to Sewa’s presence, making only 11 of their 32 shots (34.4 percent).

Mbe paced the Bulldogs with eight points and seven rebounds, Javillonar had four, while Parks only had three at the half.


Rodney Brondial widened the gap with a jumper to make it a 34-28 game to start the third, but the Bulldogs closed in after Parks and Javillonar scored five straight, 34-33. Cruz shook off Adamson’s doldrums on the offensive end after netting two consecutive triples, giving his side a 40-35 advantage with just under five minutes to play in the third canto. Howeverm the Bulldogs pounced for eight straight points, four from Villamor, to finally snag the lead at 43-40.

After trading baskets, both teams were ensconced in another deadlock after a free throw by Mbe, 46-46. Free throws from Parks gave the Bulldogs an advantage that lasted only a few seconds, as Cruz hit a last-second shot to tangle them at 48-all entering the fourth quarter, with Sewa having scored only four points so far for his side.

Parks looked to put the game away early, drawing the harm after a foray to the hoop, but Cabrera immediately sank a triple to even the game at 51. Both teams played at a higher gear, attempting to outscore each other, albeit with Adamson sans Sewa. The ADU center, however, subbed in with a little less than four minutes remaining and scored the go-ahead basket to give the lead back to Adamson at 64-63, as coach Altamirano pressed for time.

Cruz started taking things in his own hands, scoring four straight points to distance the Falcons from the Bulldogs, 68-63. When all hope seemed lost, Parks drew contact on a play as the ball banked into the hoop. The two-time MVP then sank the free throw as the Bulldogs crept up, 68-66.

Cabrera missed both free throws on the ensuing possession and Roño found the ball in his hands for the last-second shot, but the game-winner had too much mustard, and the Falcons took the win home.

Mbe notched 17 points and 18 rebounds in a losing effort for the Bulldogs. Two-time MVP Parks added 15 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists for NU, while Javillonar chipped in with 10 points.

Parks shot only four out of 17 (24 percent). - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

AdU – Cruz 18, Cabrera 12, Trollano 7, Sewa 6, Petilos 5, Rios 4, Monteclaro 4, Brondial 4, Agustin 4, Julkipli 2, Inigo 2, Abrigo 0, Ochea 0

NU – Mbe 17, Parks 15, Javillonar 10, Rono 6, Perez 5, Villamor 4, Alolino 4, Javelona 3, Porter 2, Rosario 0, Khobuntin 0, De Guzman 0, Alejandro 0

Quarter scoring: 17-15, 32-28, 48-48, 68-66