UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas needed another miracle to get to the top.
Karim Abdul struck from under with 51.1 seconds left as the Tigers slipped past the Adamson Falcons, 61-60, to claim a share of the lead with the idle Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We got lucky again,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio as his Tigers, who had survived several close shaves, wrapped up their first-round campaign tied with the Eagles at 6-1.
The Tigers closed out the game with seven unanswered points after trailing by as many as 11 points, 26-37, in the second half.
In the second game, rookie Henry Asilum fired all his 14 points in the second half as University of the Philippines ended its winless run with a 63-48 win over University of the East.
“This is like sunshine after the long, dark days of torrential rains,” said UP coach Ricky Dandan.
Abdul shot 12 of his 18 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Jeric Fortuna added 12 points, five boards and seven assists for the Tigers.
Aljon Mariano also poured in all of his 12 points in the third period where the Tigers trimmed a 26-35 gap to just 47-50.
The Falcons had a chance to take the game but Eric Camson missed his attempt in the dwindling seconds.
The scores:
First Game
UST 61—Abdul 18, Mariano 12, Fortuna 12, Bautista 8, Vigil 6, Lo 3, Ferrer 2, Pe 0, Daquioag 0, Afuang 0.
ADAMSON 60—Camson 19, Brondial 15, Etrone 10, Cabrera 10, Monteclaro 6, Rios 0, Petilos 0, Julkipli 0, Cruz 0, Cabigas 0, Abrigo 0.
Quarters: 19-13, 26-33, 47-50, 61-60
Second Game
UP 63—Asilum 14, Lopez 10, Hipolito 9, Ball 7, Montecastro 6, Romero 5, Silungan 3, Mbah 2, Wierzba 2, Soyud 2, Padilla 2, Manuel 1.
UE 48—Sumang 18, Sumido 9, Santos 8, Duran 4, Galanza 3, Flores 3, Javier 2, Hernandez 1, Alberto 0, Belleza 0, Valdez 0.
Quarters: 14-11, 30-26, 50-41, 63-48