MANILA, Philippines—Adamson University’s chase for the Final Four drew to a close and Jerrick Ahanmisi couldn’t help but pin some of the blame on himself.
The Soaring Falcons bid goodbye to their title hopes when they lost to Far Eastern University, 63-60, Wednesday in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament, missing the semifinals after three straight appearances.
Ahanmisi, who was given more of a leadership role this year, said there wasn’t any added pressure for him to deliver but he acknowledged that he didn’t perform as well as he had hoped.
“I don’t really think it had any pressure on me, it’s just that I didn’t perform as well as I was supposed to,” said Ahanmisi. “It cost us, as you guys saw, the losses that we had.”
The Soaring Falcons, who slipped to 4-8 with two games to play, could’ve remained in the race if not for two close losses to University of the Philippines.
Both games, which were won by an average of 2.5 points, saw the Falcons collapse in the end game and allowed UP to snatch the close victories.
And just as Adamson faltered, so did Ahanmisi who has one more year of college eligibility left.
The shooting guard was one of the deadlier wings in Season 81, putting up 17.5 points on 42 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from deep with 4.0 rebounds.
Ahanmisi saw dips in his production this year, averaging 14.2 points on 36 percent from the field and 31 percent from three with 3.8 rebounds just before the FEU game.
“I’m playing my final year and whatever the outcome goes, I’m just going to give it all my next year,” said Ahanmisi who had 10 points on 3-of-19 shooting against the Tamaraws.