Adamson squanders lead, survives pesky UP for 1st victory

MANILA, Philippines–Adamson squandered its superior lead but still survived with a 69-67 victory over pesky University of the Philippines Sunday in the 75th UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Rodney Brondial sealed the go-ahead bucket for the Falcons, who teetered on the brink of defeat after the Maroons’ late rally in the payoff period which tied the game at 67 with 25 seconds left.

Brondial had a double-double performance of 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Jericho Cruz and Eric Camson, who alternated to give Adamson a 64-59 lead, meanwhile, carried the scoring cudgels with 19 points while Alex Nuyles scored 10 points.

“It’s an ugly win, but a win is a win. Players were panicking but they were able to recover,” said head coach Leo Austria, whose squad finally nailed the first victory.

The Falcons saw their 28-8 lead melt away in the second half, unable to sustain the intensity as the Maroons, at the same time, doubled their effort to catch up.

“We were able to survive despite all our turnovers. The good thing is that we won, that’s the best stat,” added Austria.

UP, still winless after three tries, even knotted the game three times in the payoff period behind efforts from Mark Lopez, Chris Ball and Alvin Padilla.

Lopez, who finished with a team-high 17 points knocked down a trey before Padilla scored a deuce to make it 67-all but ran out of time in its effort to go for a game-winner.

Lopez also hauled down six boards and four steals while Ball chipped in 13 points and five rebounds.