Monteclaro’s freebies help Adamson steal game from Perpetual Help

Ryan Monteclaro goes for a layup. Photo from Filoil Flying V Sports Facebook.

MANILA, Philippines — Adamson missed 17 out of its 43 free throw attempts, but the Falcons made their foul shots when it mattered most.

Ryan Monteclaro calmly sank the game-winning free throws as Adamson stole one from Perpetual Help 79-78 Wednesday in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the Arena in San Juan.

Monteclaro drew the foul on Chris Elopre off a pump fake from the right elbow before burying the clutch freebies with 3.3 seconds remaining.

“Siguro everything [can] happen pagdating sa mga close fights,” said Adamson assistant coach Jing Ruiz, who filled in for head coach Leo Austria, who’s with the San Miguel Beermen in Bangkok for Game 4 of their semifinals series with the Thailand Slammers in the Asean Basketball League (ABL).

“Gusto namin pagdating namin sa big game namin against San Beda, mataas yung morale ng mga bata. Every game is a must-win for us,” he added.

“Bago yung last shot, nakita ko yung score. Sabi ko kay Jericho (Cruz), tingnan mo ako sa corner Naka-sag sa’yo, yun nga dinrive niya nag-commit na-open ako yun, na-foul ako tapos yung foul shot composure lang,” recalled Monteclaro, who had 10 points, three rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Jericho Cruz led the Falcons with 27 points, including two free throws that pulled them to within one 77-78 four seconds after Juneric Baloria made it 78-75 with only 13.7 ticks remaining.

Adamson, which can finish in third place in Group A if it beats San Beda on Saturday, trailed by 11, 51-62, entering the final frame and was still playing catchup 68-76 in the final 1:51 after Justine Alano’s jumper.

Nosa Omorogbe matched Cruz’ output with 27 to go along with 14 rebounds and a block but got trapped and lost the ball with 7.7 ticks left that paved the way for Monteclaro’s charities.

“Yung panalo namin na ‘to para kay coach Leo and gusto din namin ipakita na iba yung Adamson this season, na yung maturity namin nandito,” added Monteclaro.

Baloria finished with 18 points while Alano added 14 and six rebounds but despite their contributions, the Altas, who were also without their head coach Aric del Rosario and a couple of key players in Femi Babayemi and Earl Thompson due to injuries, fell to 1-6.