THE ADAMSON Soaring Falcons escaped a humiliating loss to the UAAP’s bottom-dweller as they survived the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 64-51, in the 74th UAAP basketball tournament yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The win enabled the Falcons to put a foot in the door of a berth in the Final Four and they were able to do this, thanks to a second half barrage led by their veterans.
Veteran playmaker Lester Alvarez, along with lanky forward Janus Lozada and Kenyan center Lionel Manyara, conspired in the late third quarter barrage to give the Falcons a double-digit cushion which they maintained the entire payoff period.
Lozada finished with 16 points and pulled nine rebounds, Manyara pitched in 13 and 12 boards even as Alvarez added nine points as the Falcons earned at least a playoff for the final four with the win.
Manyara, though, suffered a contusion as his knee bumped into Alex Nuyles’ with just two minutes left in the game.
Although Alex Nuyles only punched in three points in the entire second half for a nine point total, the multifaceted guard plucked 10 rebounds and dished out seven of Adamson’s 12 assists.
The Falcons even cruised to an early 13-2 lead owing to hot shooting by Lozada, before squandering it in the blink of an eye to the eager Maroons.
Only Jett Manuel, who had 11 points, and Paolo Romero, who had 10, carried UP, which lost its s ix straight for a 2-9 record, in the last two quarters. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio