MANILA, Philippines — A huge turnaround in the third quarter, anchored on crucial defensive adjustments, carried University of Santo Tomas to a 67-62 win over Adamson Saturday in the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tournament.
The Growling Tigers executed the full-court press to the hilt, forcing the Falcons to commit turnovers in succession which paved way to a pivotal 19-7 run in the third.
“Defense won it for us,” said head coach Pido Jarencio in Filipino after the game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “We executed the full court press and we got a lot of steals.”
Jeric Teng and Kevin Ferrer led UST with 17 and 15 points, respectively, bringing in the points when center Karim Abdul couldn’t get anything going all game.
Abdul fell behind his head-to-head match up with the Falcons’ hulking Cameroonian Ingrid Sewa, as he only had four points compared to Sewa’s 13.
But Sewa, who threw his weight around in the first half, barely got touches in the second half and never scored again as UST turned to a 2-3 zone.
“We really had a bad first half, we just adjusted. They lost their edge in Sewa in the second half,” said Jarencio. “Kim Lo also did a good job on defense.
The Tigers, though, still had to survive a late rally by the Falcons — who trimmed UST’s 10-point edge, 63-53, down to just two with 30.5 seconds left.
But Teng hit a tough jumper from the corner with 14.3 seconds to play, giving the Tigers a safe distance as the time wound down.
“That’s a not a surprise [that he hit that shot]. He’s the leader of this team,” Jarencio said of his skipper.
Jericho Cruz scattered 15 points for the Falcons, meanwhile, but last scored with 5:41 to play on an and-one chance.
Don Trollano and Roider Cabrera were Adamson’s last chance, as they knocked down three straight triples in the last 1:15 — before Teng’s dagger.