UAAP: Adamson scores first win, dominates UE

Adamson’s Joem Sabandal versus UE defenders in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament.
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Adamson University fought a pair of suspenseful games and narrowly lost them both.

The Falcons finally got over the hump, riding on Lenda Douanga and Vince Magbuhos near the end to complete a 74-61 mastery of the University of the East Warriors on Saturday at the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament in the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Douanga’s two-hand jam followed by a couple of timely incursions around the rim provided the breather while Magbuhos sealed their first win of the season in three games with a power move inside and an explosive three after missing his first eight attempts from afar.

“It feels good to win. It’s something all teams pray for at the start of the tournament. Hopefully we can follow it up one game at a time,” said Adamson coach Nash Racela.

JM Sabandal led the Falcons with 16 points and shifty guard Jerom Lastimosa added 11 points and seven assists, both of them turnover-free in running Adamson’s fluid backcourt.

“It’s just one win. I told my teammates that we have stick to the system for us to sustain this,” said Sabandal, who forced the extra time against UP with three free throws only to drop the match despite the Falcons leading by 16 at one point in regulation.

Luis Villegas pumped in 15 points, built on a trio of threes, and Calvin Payawal had 12, all of these coming from the three-point range that pulled the Warriors within a single digit after falling behind by as many as 17.

“We reminded them that we have to learn our lesson from our previous game. We’re up by 16 and then we lost. Today was kind of different, we led by 17 and kept everything under control,’’ said Racela.

“These are the things that we need to learn as the season progresses,” added Racela.

The Scores

ADAMSON 74 — Sabandal 16, Lastimosa 11, V. Magbuhos 9, Douanga 9, Manzano 6, Hanapi 6, Colonia 5, Yerro 4, Flowers 4, Torres 2, Barcelona 2, Jaymalin 0, Barasi 0, W. Magbuhos 0, Fuentebella 0.
UE 61 — Villegas 15, Payawal 12, K. Paranada 8, Pagsanjan 7, Sawat 7, Stevens 6, N. Paranada 4, Tulabut 2, Alcantara 0, Remogat 0, Antiporda 0, Beltran 0.

Quarters: 23-9, 38-31, 49-45, 74-61.