 |
| Adamson big man Papi Sarr flirted with a 20-20 game as they come away with a convincing win over UP. |
QUEZON CITY -- Adamson University returned to the Final Four for the second consecutive season after a routine beating of UP, 86-70 in ther UAAP Men's Basketball Tournament at the Araneta Coliseum tonight.
The Falcons of Franz Pumaren pulled away in the third quarter to book it's return trip to the postseason for the first time since 2011, where Leo Austria finished second.
This time, Adamson locked in third place after getting their ninth win in their penultimate game of the season, with Cameroonian center Papi Sarr came just three boards shy of a 20-20 game after leading all scorers with 25 points.
Sarr's 17 rebounds became crucial for the Falcons as they finally won the rebounding category for the first time after four tries in the second round, with the tally pegged at 49-40 in their favor.
Guard Jerie Pingoy played out his best game as a Falcon after flirting on a potential triple double as he ended up with 15 markers, 8 dimes and 6 steals.
Graduating skipper Paul Desiderio fired a team-high 20 for the Fighting Maroons who lost a seven-point lead in the opening frame to fall down to 5-7 ahead of their titanic showdown against Ateneo on Wednesday.
After a close first half, Adamson pulled away at the third period, outscoring UP by eleven and they were leading by as much as 23, 60-37 on a Sarr three-point play at the 4:28 mark before ending the period by nineteen at the end of the third
Amidst of a tense atmosphere which saw a fan ejected for throwing a crumpled piece of paper, the Fighting Maroons fought back in the fourth, reducing the deficit to eight on a fightback led by Desiderio and Jun Manzo.
But that was all UP can muster, as Adamson replied with a 10-0 blitz to put the game beyond reach, capping off with a Pingoy jumper with 1:38 left in the game.
The scores:
Adamson 86 -- Sarr 25, Pingoy 15, Ahanmisi 11, Manalang 10, Espeleta 8, Manganti 5, Ochea 4, Hill 4, Camacho 4, Lojera 0, Mustre 0, Bernardo 0, Paranada 0
UP 70 -- Desiderio 20, Manzo 15, Gomez de Liano 10, Vito 6, Lim 4, Dario 3, Jaboneta 3, Webb 3, Ouattara 2, Romero 2, Lao 2, Harris 0, Prado 0
Quarter scores: 18-17; 39-31; 69-50; 86-70.
.JPG)
.jpg)
