MANILA, Philippines – For a moment, Adamson seemed headed for what head coach Leo Austria feared the most – a loss to a cellar-dweller.
But the Falcons blitzed away in the second half en route to a 64-51 victory over a gritty University of the Philippines and planted at least a foot in the semi-finals Saturday in the 74th UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
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.
“We needed this win, come playoff time. Because until now we are still unsteady, especially the players,” said Leo Austria.
True enough – the Falcons proved unsteady in the handling the leather and committed 14 of their 20 turnovers in the first half, which allowed the Maroons to seize the lead countless of times.
After UP, which is slowly losing sight of the final four spot, opened up the third quarter strong, a shaken up Adamson, in turn, retaliated with a 5-0 spurt which it continued to pad until its victory.
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 and Austria was hoping that “it’s nothing serious. We cannot afford to lose him.”
Although 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.
But Mike Silungan, Miggy Maniego, and Anjelo Montecastro –who all were credited for UP’s tough stand in the first half –combined for only four points in the second half, and zero in the fourth quarter.
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.