Hard luck Adamson fails to catch a break in OT loss to NU

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ Tristan Tamayo

Adamson officially bowed out of the Final Four race but the Falcons refused to go out quietly into the night.

Head coach Mike Fermin felt National University’s free-throw binge in the waning seconds of regulation played a big factor to Adamson’s sorry loss on Wednesday.

“Let the players decide the game,” Fermin said after the Falcons’ 85-79 defeat in overtime. “I will not say any derogatory remarks but it was the judgment call of the referees. It just so happened we were on the short end of the judgment call.”

“They were given six free throws in the last 22 seconds,” Fermin added.

The Falcons were primed for an upset when they led, 70-67, with only 1:09 remaining in the fourth quarter before J-Jay Alejandro made four free throws and put the Bulldogs in front, 71-70, with 22.7 seconds to go.

The game was sent into overtime with Adamson’s Ivan Villanueva scoring on an undergoal stab with 13 ticks left.

Adamson came so close to earning what could’ve been only the team’s second win of the season while also dealing a big blow to defending champion NU’s Final Four bid. Instead, the Falcons fell to 1-9 while the Bulldogs snapped a three-game slide to stay just outside of the semifinals picture in fifth place with a 4-6 slate.