ANTIPOLO—Graduating guard Andrei Caracut came up clutch to push La Salle past Adamson, 68-61, in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament Saturday night at Ynares Center here.
With the Green Archers clinging to a 60-58 lead, Caracut buried back-to-back triples inside the final minute to slam the door on the Falcons.
“It’s been tough for us. We really felt the pressure as a team. Coaching staff, the players, everyone on the team we felt the pressure,” said DLSU coach Gian Nazario.
Caracut, though, hardly felt any when the game was on the line. The first of his two clutch 3-pointers put the Archers ahead by five with 57 seconds left and with the Falcons pulling within two anew, he drilled the dagger with 27.3 ticks to go.
“I missed my three attempts early in the fourth quarter and I was just relieved to make those two,” Caracut, who scored 15 points, said in Filipino.
It was a game of runs with both teams taking a double-digit lead at one point in the game.
Val Chauca put Adamson back in the driver’s seat, 58-57 with 4:46 remaining but the Falcons went on a four-minute dry spell after that.
Justine Baltazar was also stellar for the Archers with 21 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks while Jamie Malonzo added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
La Salle, which rebounded from a 66-55 loss to Far Eastern University on Wednesday, climbed to 2-3.
Jerrick Ahanmisi and Chauca each scored 13 on a bad shooting night for the Falcons, who slipped to 3-3.
POST-GAME INTERVIEW