Warriors, Falcons down NCAA foes

THE UAAP squads of University of the East and Adamson proved too sharp for their  NCAA foes yesterday  even as St. Benilde scored a breakthrough victory in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup.

Chris Javier pumped in 18 points and grabbed nine boards as the Warriors overpowered the Letran Knights, 76-64, while the Falcons hammered out a narrow 69-65 victory over Jose Rizal U at Filoil Flying V Arena.

The Blazers nipped Perpetual Help, 78-74, to give new coach Gabby Velasco his first victory in the preseason tournament.

The victory lifted the Warriors to 3-2 in a tie for the last quarterfinal berth with  University of Santo Tomas, while the Knights fell to 3-3.

With Raymund Almazan struggling to cope with the bevy of strong big men in the Warriors’ lineup, UE dominated the boards, 63-48.

The Falcons leaned on the brilliance of Jericho Cruz, who finished with 24 points in leading Adamson to its second win. Cruz joined forces with center Rodney Brondial in an 8-0 spurt that lifted the Falcons from a 61-all tie.

“We’re a bit rusty, but it’s always nice to win even if you don’t play well,” said Adamson coach Leo Austria.

Fons Saavedra delivered down the stretch for the Blazers, hitting two free throws with seven ticks left to seal the victory.

Despite the win, Velasco said his team is still a work in progress.

“We have a lot to learn. When they were running something offensively, we were not able to respond,” he said. With a report from Nikka Valenzuela, Carla Perez

The Scores:

First Game

ADAMSON 69—Cruz 24, Brondial 13, Sewa 11, Agustin 5, Rios 4, Trollano 4, Petilos 3, Cabrera 3, Inigo 2, Monteclaro 0, Abrigo 0, Bernabe 0, Ochea 0

JRU 65—Paniamogan 18, Mabulac 14, Pontejos 9, Balagtas 8, Gozum 6, Sanchez 6, Benavides 2, Abanto 2, Salaveria 0, Lasquety 0, Diego 0, Grospe 0, Medrano 0, Munez

Quarters: 23-16, 34-34, 49-55, 69-65

Second Game

ST. BENILDE 78—Taha 16, Romero 13, Ongtengco 12, Jonson 9, Grey 8, Sinco 5, Saavedra 4, Deles 4, Bartolo 2, De Guzman 2, Nayve 1, Argamino 0.

PERPETUAL HELP 74—Omorogbe 16, Allano 14, Elorpe 10, Baloria 10, Ylagan 9, Arboleda 7, Lucente 6, Dizon 2, Jolangcob 0, Bantayan 0

Quarters: 13-21, 39-32, 56-55, 78-74

Third Game

UE 76—Javier 18, Mammie 11, Sumang 10, Sumang 10, Santos 10, Olivarez 9, Casajeros 5, Sumido 4, Hernandez 4, Noble 1, Pujante 0, Bonleon 0, Galanza 0, Guion 0

LETRAN 64—Ruaya 13, Castro 11, Almazan 7, Gabawan 7, Cruz 6, Luib 6, Nambatac 5, Dysam 4, Publico 3, Tambeling 2, Po 0, Oluto 0, Almario 0

Quarters: 15-14, 37-35, 54-50, 76-74