UAAP: UP makes it four in a row, escapes Adamson

Photo from UAAP

MANILA, Philippines—Zav Lucero, Maodo Diouf and Ricci Rivero hit big shots down the stretch and University of the Philippines bucked a last-gasp scare to hold off Adamson, 73-71, on Saturday for its fourth straight victory in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

Diouf had a hybrid three-point play—he split his charities, got the rebound off his backend miss and cut a quick path to the basket for a layup—to give UP a much-needed 68-62 breather going into the final three minutes at Mall of Asia Arena.

Lucero hit a layup while Rivero canned a big triple as UP answered every Adamson comeback from that point. But the Falcons dug out one last fight as Ahmad Hanapi uncorked a three and Joshua Yerro drove hard to make it 73-71 with 31.4 seconds remaining.

The Falcons then tightened up their defense, siphoning the ball to the corner where Rivero missed a triple that gave Adamson one last shot at the victory.

But Jerom Lastimosa, whose offense and playmaking sustained the upset-seeking Falcons for most of the game, rushed a three-pointer that completely missed the rim as time expired.

Lucero finished with 20 points, fiver rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead UP, making nine out of just 13 shots from the field. Diouf added 16 points, 15 rebounds and three steals while Gilas Pilipinas cadet Carl Tamayo added 11, Rivero had 10 points for the Maroons.

Lastimosa finished with 18 points but needed 22 shots to get there as he led a Falcons crew that started out strong and had several double-digit leads in the first half. Lenda Douanga added 16 points and 14 rebounds for Adamson, which drew 16 points from Keith Zaldivar.

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