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UAAP: Daquioag, Abdul, snap UST's losing streak as Adamson continues to fall


Karim Abdul (R) shook off an in-game injury to doom Rodney Brondial and the Falcons anew. KC Cruz

The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Adamson University Soaring Falcons dropped their sixth straight, as last season's finalists won 80-67, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the second round of UAAP Season 67.

Despite not having Jeric Teng, who was resting his right hamstring, and in-game injuries to Kim Lo and Karim Abdul, the latter two managed to re-enter the game and help the Tigers even their card at 5-5.

Adamson on the other hand sank to 3-8.

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

In the post-game press conference, UST head coach Pido Jarencio also mentioned that two of his reserve players, Edcor Marata and Jon Macasaet, suffered ACL injuries.

Down by double-digits, Jericho Cruz exploded for seven straight Adamson points, getting his team within six, 68-62, with 2:57 left, but Aljon Mariano put a dampener on the Falcons' rally, hitting a deuce, 70-62, 2:34 on the clock.

In response, Don Trollano hit a difficult triple with a hand in his face, but Cruz picked the wrong time to tie his shoelaces, as Aljon Mariano came down the other side of the court and canned a jumper to push the UST lead back to seven. It become nine shortly after, as Karim Abdul scored off a timeout, making it 74-65, 1:09 remaining.

Trollano and Mariano swapped free throws, but after twin turnovers by the Falcons, Abdul canned a jumper to seal the win, 78-67 with just 34 ticks remaining.  

Abdul finished with 19 markers, 12 rebounds and four blocks, while Daquioag chimed in with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, five rebounds and two steals. Aljon Mariano stuffed the stats sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Adamson led for most of the first half, starting out with an early 12-5 lead, six points courtesy of Jansen Rios. However, UST kept pounding the ball down low to Karim Abdul, and the slotman delivered with nine markers.

However, the Growling Tigers finished the initial 10 minutes going 0-of-4 from the line, allowing the Falcons to stay on top, 18-15.

A 6-0 start to the second half gave UST the lead, but Adamson punched back with seven unanswered, going ahead anew 25-21. The guards of Santo Tomas, Daquioag and Clark Bautista, punched back with five, 26-25, but Ingrid Sewa charities put the Falcons up by a point, 27-26.

The lead exchanged hands again twice more, but a split at the line by Daquioag and a late score from the combo guard allowed UST to enter the break on top, but just slightly, 31-30.

The Growling Tigers could have had a more substantial lead, but they were just 4-of-12 from the stripe at the half. Meanwhile, 10 turnovers by the host school Adamson, compared to just six by their opponents, kept them from staying on top.

A late explosion by Jericho Cruz (L) wasn't enough to get the Falcons over the hump. KC Cruz

The two teams exchanged runs, but Jericho Cruz had a golden opportunity to equalize after drawing an unsportsmanlike foul from Kim Lo. However, he missed both of his free throws and the Falcons couldn't score on the bonus possession, to trail 37-34.

The Growling Tigers used an 8-2 run in the second half of the third to give them their biggest lead of the game to that point, 49-40, but they fell silent from the field afterwards. Coupled with a shoulder injury to Abdul, UST scored just two more points, while Adamson closed to within four, 51-47, 10 minutes remaining.

Don Trollano helped engineer a comeback try for Adamson in the final quarter, getting his team within three, 58-55, with 6:59 remaining, but a pair of Ed Daquioag triples sandwiched an Aljon Mariano basket, for a 66-55 lead, 4:58 remaining.

Adamson drew 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks from Rodney Brondial, while Jericho Cruz scattered 13 markers, though the latter missed 6-of-7 free throws. Role players Don Trollano and Jansen Rios chipped in with 12 apiece, but Ingrid Sewa was held to six points and nine boards, and Roider Cabrera finished 1-of-11 from downtown.

Both teams shoot poorly from the foul line, 12-of-22 for UST (54.5 percent) and 15-of-23 for Adamson (65.2 percent), but the Growling Tigers made up for it by getting out and running, with a 12-2 edge in fast break points, and a 17-5 difference in turnover points.  - AMD, GMA News



The scores:

UST 80 - Abdul 19, Daquioag 17, Mariano 16, Lo 8, Ferrer 8, Bautista 6, Sheriff 4, Hainga 2, Pe 0

ADU 67 - Brondial 15, Cruz 13, Trollano 12, Rios 12, Sewa 6, Cabrera 5, Monteclaro 2, Inigo 2, Petilos 0, Julkipli 0, Agustin 0, Abrigo 0

Quarter scoring: 15-18, 31-30, 51-47, 80-67
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