Pasay city: Adamson University defeated University of Santo Tomas, 87-76, in the UAAP Season 88 boys’ basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Saturday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Fran Flores delivered 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks as the Baby Falcons ended the Tiger Cubs’ four-game streak and avenged their 86-87 loss in the first round on Oct. 18.
Edison Jordan chipped in 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Seb Esma added 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Keefy Iledan had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Adamson, which joined UST in third place at 6-3.
Ahead 36-34 at halftime, the Baby Falcons relied on Vengcs Vengco, Edison Jordan, Keefy Iledan, Fran Flores, Seb Esma, and Majiq Padrejuan to take a 66-52 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Flores made back-to-back layups and Uno Del Monte fired a triple as Adamson posted its biggest lead at 77-58, with 6:37 remaining.
‘All throughout the week, after that game, we always had to instill in them — ‘one point, one point.’ We don’t want that again,’ Baby Falcons coach Dante Tengco said. ‘Even if we won by one point, it’s fine as long as we say that we’re not supposed to lose this time. The boys became men today and really answered the call, so thank you for that.’
CJ Tabbuga led UST with 26 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists, followed by Rowie Caba±ero, with 15 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, and four steals.
Gab Castro had 12 points and nine rebounds.
In the other game, University of the East won, 72-69, to improve its record to a fourth-best 5-4.
Mark Perdigon buried a triple to give UE a 70-66 lead with 25.8 seconds remaining, before Lorenzo Purugganan responded with a three-pointer to close in at 70-69, with 23 seconds left.
Austin Delos Santos made two free throws to make it 72-69, with 17 seconds remaining. De La Salle Zobel tried but failed to score as time expired.
Goodluck Okebata topscored for UE with 26 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Delos Santos added 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals, while Perdigon had 12 points, four assists, three rebounds, and three blocks.
Purugganan scored 26 points to go with three assists and three steals, while Jullian Pangan added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the winless Junior Archers.
Isaac Purugganan had 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists for DLSZ, which dominated the third quarter, 55-45.
Meanwhile, Adamson faces FEU-Diliman at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the match between DLSZ and National University-Nazareth School at 9:30 a.m.
