Adamson University’s early streak in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament has been put to a stop.
The Soaring Falcons suffered a disappointing 88-85 loss to Far Eastern University in a game that saw them come back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter only to fizzle out in overtime.
And head coach Franz Pumaren knows why they failed to sustain their late-game momentum.
“I think we made bad decisions down the stretch, we didn’t play smart,” said Pumaren Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Adamson waxed hot in the fourth quarter outscoring the Tamaraws, 28-13, including a 24-6 run wherein the Soaring Falcons took a 76-75 lead after Sean Manganti’s basket.
All that offensive power, however, was nowhere to be found in the extra five minutes as Adamson went 0-9 from the field and scored all its five points from the charity stripe.
The Tamaraws even outhustled the Soaring Falcons down the stretch after Hubert Cani picked up the ball when Papi Sarr tried to find a teammate.
Cani would then, find the trailing Barkley Eboña who scored the game’s final points with a layup with 20.1 seconds left in overtime.
“I guess this was a learning experience for us,” said Pumaren, whose squad settled for a 5-1 record and slipped into a tie with Ateneo in first place. “This is the type of game that will make us better down the line.”