By Ricky Manliguis
SAN JUAN—Adamson secured the top spot
in the Final Four, surviving a late-game Ateneo uprising to fashion out a 79-73
victory in the third game of UAAP Season LXXIX junior’s basketball at the
FilOil-Flying V Centre Saturday, Jan.21.
The Baby Falcons waxed hot early on
behind Encho Serrano and Jason Celis, but had to withstand the fightback by the
Eaglets in the fourth quarter to secure the victory, the team’s ninth against a
solitary loss.
The win also secured the San Marcelino-based
squad with one of the two twice-to-beat seats in the Final Four, just ahead of
FEU-Diliman and Nazareth School of National U, which tote identical 8-2
win-loss records.
Serrano, Celis, and Rence Padrigao
joint forces in instigating a 25-point first quarter advantage, and seemed to
be blowing the game wide open going into the final 10 minutes with a 68-47
cushion.
The Eaglets made things a lot more
interesting though, with prolific guard SJ Belangel leading a 26-11 closing
salvo, which proved to be too little, too late.
Serrano, the leading candidate for
MVP, once again led the charge with 15 points with four rebounds and two
assists. Padrigao contributed his season-best 13 markers, three assists and two
steals, while Celis also chipped in 13.
Belangel finished with 18 points for
Ateneo, which fell to an even 5-5 card.
In the final game of the day,
University of Santo Tomas stirred up the race for the last slot in the next
round with a 91-83 win over UPIS for its third win in 10 matches.
Jan Narvasa and Crispin Cansino each
scored 22 points and combining for 24 rebounds as the Tiger Cubs dashed the playoff
aspirations of the Junior Maroons, which fell to 3-7.
Juan Gomez De Liaño paced UPIS with 27
points, while Matt Santiago and Byran Joshua Lina contributed 17 and 16
markers, respectively.
The Scores:
Third Game
Adamson
79 – Serrano 15, Padrigao 13, Celis 13, Tamayo 6, Agbong 6, Abadiano 5, Umayao
5, Antiporda 4, Beltran 4, Sabandal 4, Santos 2, Desoyo 2
Ateneo
73 – Belangel 18, Manuel 14, Credo 13, Berjay 11, Ildefonso 9, Angeles 4,
Salazar 2, Flores 2, Escalona 0, Sotto 0
Quarterscores:
25-9, 46-22, 68-47, 79-73
Fourth
Game
UST
91 – Narvasa 22, Cansino 22, Fornillos 15, Balingit 8, Vince 7, Juan 5,
Ratuiste 4, Dela Cruz 4, Villapando 4, Ian 0, Ballada 0
UPIS
83 – Gomez de Liano 27, Santiago 17, Lina 16, Labao Raf 10, Labao Ral 7,
Vergeire 3, Tupaz 2, Gregorio 1, Estrera 0, Villa-real 0, Lagahit 0
Quarterscores:
21-16, 47-39, 70-57, 91-83
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