Tigers grab share of lead

ROI Sumang of UE skates past the defense of Adamson’s Allen Etrone during their game yesterday. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

University of Santo Tomas survived another tough stand from University of the Philippines, pulling off a 68-58 decision to grab a share of the lead in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Karim Abdul, who had another double-double outing of 20 points and 12 rebounds, took charge in the final four minutes to lead the Tigers, who were described by their coach Pido Jarencio as sloppy.

“A win is a win; I’ll take it even if we played bad,” said Jarencio after his Tigers joined four-time champion Ateneo and Far Eastern U on top at 5-1. “We played bad for three quarters, we were playing lazy and didn’t execute.”

UP looked ready to pull off an upset after staying toe-to-toe with the Tigers the entire game, even taking control of some parts of the match in the first half.

But with the loss, the Maroons remained the only winless squad (0-6) as Roi Sumang starred in the clutch to help University of the East snap out of a five-game losing spell with a  71-66 win over Adamson in the first game.

Sumang, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, unloaded eight of the Warriors’ last 10 points inside the final 92 seconds to finish with a game-high 18 markers.

“I just told the boys that things will get better,” said coach Jerry Codiñera after his Warriors picked up their first win in six games. “We just had to find a way to win. We never gave up.”

The Warriors nearly blew an 18-point advantage, 47-29, as the Falcons rallied behind Eric Camson and Roider Cabrera in the final quarter.

Although Adamson closed in within three, 61-58, the Falcons blew the chance to trim the gap further when they missed six straight free throws with just over a minute to go.

Sumang, who also dished out eight assists, poured all but two of his total output in the second half.

JR Sumido added 12 points, while Gene Belleza shot 11, the last two on crucial free throws that gave the Warriors a 67-62 buffer with just 37.2 ticks left.

The Falcons, who joined the Warriors at 1-5, also had a woeful 25-of-48 clip from the foul line.

In women’s action, Allan Lim exploded for 45 points as the unbeaten Far Eastern University crushed UE, 85-43, for its sixth straight triumph.

Lim, who outscored the entire UE squad, missed only one of 23 attempts from the field in just 22 minutes of action.

Adamson also kept the second spot with a 5-1 slate after Snow Penaranda (23 points and 15 rebounds) and Janille de Castro (14 points and 11 boards) powered the Falcons past Ateneo, 74-70.

The scores:

First Game

UE 71—Sumang 18, Sumido 12, Belleza 11, Santos 10, Flores 5, Javier 4, Duran 4, Valdez 3, Hernandez 2, Galanza 2, Alberto 0, Mena 0.

ADAMSON 66—Cabrera 16, Brondial 15, Cruz 14, Camson 14, Etrone 4, Monteclaro 2, Julkipli 1, Trollano 0, Rios 0, Petilos 0, Olalia 0, Cabigas 0, Abrigo 0.

Quarters: 9-9, 30-21, 52-38, 71-66

Second Game

UST 68—Abdul 20, Bautista 12, Lo 11, Fortuna 10, Vigil 7, Mariano 4, Ferrer 3, Afuang 1, Pe 0, Daquioag 0.

UP 58—Silungan 10, Lopez 10, Asilum 9, Ball 7, Mbah 5, Soyud 4, Manuel 4, Padilla 3, Romero 2, Montecastro 2, Hipolito 2, Wong 0.

Quarters: 16-15, 33-33, 50-45, 68-58