Adamson survives scare to squeak past UP

Adamson University squandered a 20-point lead but recovered just in time to slip past hard-luck University of the Philippines, 69-67, to finally break into the win column in UAAP men’s basketball action at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Falcons grabbed the lead with 18 seconds left on a Rodney Brondial follow-up but had to watch Alvin Padilla miss a triple in the dying seconds before they could celebrate their first win of the tournament.

Early on, it looked like the Maroons were in for a repeat of their 50-67 humiliation at the hands of the NU Bulldogs as they scored only eight first-quarter points to fall behind by 20. The Falcons were still sitting on a 20-point spread at 34-14 when the Fighting Maroons closed out the half with a 14-3 run to climb to within nine at the break.

Employing a three-guard line-up for virtually the entire second half, UP put consistent pressure on Adamson’s guards, disrupting the Falcons’ defense and gradually chipping away at the deficit. The Maroons finally drew level after Henry Asilum sank a jumper at the buzzer that tied it up at 50 heading into payoff period.

UP finally inched ahead at 59-58 on a Jelo Montecastro split with 4:01 left, but the Falcons responded with seven unanswered points on back-to-back baskets by Eric Camson and a three-point play by Jericho Cruz to surge ahead, 65-59 with only 2:52 left.

The Maroons wouldn’t go quietly, however. Chris Ball completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to three, and after Cruz scored on a drive, Mark Lopez sank a triple and Alvin Padilla stole the ball and scored in transition to tie up the game at 67 with only 40 seconds left.

With the shot clock winding down, Cruz missed a jumper, but the Maroons failed to mark Brondial, who scored unmolested on a putback. With no timeouts left, the Maroons were forced to improvise on their last play. Padilla got the ball on the left wing with around five seconds left and had to put up a triple with time winding down.

The shot was long, though, giving Adamson its first win of the season and pushing UP down the cellar with its third straight loss.

“Finally, nanalo na din kami dito,” a visibly relieved Leo Austria said. “It was an ugly win. Imagine lamang na kami ng 20 sa first half.”

Austria praised his players for not losing their focus in the face of UP’s fightback, and he was so confident in the ability of his boys that he chose not to call a timeout after the Maroons had tied it up at 67.

“Hindi nag-panic ang players,” he noted. “Thankfully hindi nawala ang composure nila kahit na nag kanya-kanya sila.  Wala kaming go-to guy. I’m happy na napanalo pa namin ito.

“Gusto ko yung composure ng team, ng lima na nasa loob,” he added, referring to his decision not to call a timeout after Padilla’s steal and conversion. “Baka ma-pressure sila.”

It was the second heartbreaking loss for UP this season, following their 68-73 loss to DLSU on opening day. But the Maroons gave up too many second-chance points, especially in the end game, as Brondial and Eric Camson combined for 26 rebounds, including nine off the offensive boards, and almost outrebounded the entire UP team, which had only 31.

Camson and Cruz topscored for the Falcons with 19 each, while Brondial added 10. Lopez had 17 points and four steals, while rookie Chris Ball added 13 for the Maroons.