Soaring Falcons complete epic comeback over Green Archers

MANILA, Philippines – The Adamson Soaring Falcons didn’t waver when they trailed by 16, and when the game went down to the wire, they came up with the big stops and shots to escape with a huge 75-74 come-from-behind victory over the DLSU Green Archers on Saturday, October 24, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Led by the 23 points and 14 rebounds of standout big man Pape Sarr and the 20 points of the returning Joseph Nalos, Adamson outscored DLSU 34-17 in the game’s final 14 minutes and 12 seconds.

The victory improved Adamson to 2-9 in the UAAP Season 78 senior’s basketball tournament, while La Salle fell to 5-5.

Jerome Garcia also played well for Adamson with 13 markers and 5 boards, while Nico Capote hit a humongous 3-pointer late in the fourth period that tied the game at 71 and finished with 6 points.

La Salle was led by the career game of second-year standout Prince Rivero, who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jeron Teng also played well with 22 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, but as a team the Green Archers shot only 3-of-24 from long range, which came back to haunt them at the end game.

DLSU went ahead by 16 in the third period thanks to the combined great play of both Rivero and Teng, who torched Adamson’s interior defense. 

In the fourth quarter, the Soaring Falcons turned to a zone defense, forcing the Green Archers to beat them with outside shooting. Consistent missed jumpers by La Salle let Adamson slowly inch their way back into the game, with it eventually tying at 68 as 3:45 remained on the clock.

Thomas Torres, who finished with 7 points on 2-of-11 shooting, hit a 3 to give his team breathing room but Capote responded with a big triple of his own, 71-71.

After Sarr and Rivero exchanged scores to tie the game with under two minutes to go, both teams went a series of possessions missing jump shots. 

Adamson re-took the lead on clutch free throws by Sarr with 18 ticks left. After a time-out, Teng missed a jumper but Rivero pulled down an offensive board and was fouled.

The former La Salle Greenhills star made the first charity but missed the second, although a double lane violation gave DLSU a crack at a game-winner.

After Teng faced a double team on the sideline, he whipped the ball to Torres before it found Caracut. But before the DLSU rookie could square himself up for a shot, the ball slipped, forcing him to throw up a prayer that clanked off the rim as the game clock expired. 

The Green Archers will look to get back on the winning track and strengthen their hold on a Final Four spot when they take on the defending champion NU Bulldogs on Wednesday, October 28. 

Adamson is in action on the same day against the FEU Tamaraws.

Scores:

ADU (75): Sarr 23, Nalos 20, Garcia 13, Capote 6, Fernandez 5, Polican 2, Bernardo 2, Garcia 2, Villanueva 2, Ochea 0, Tungcab 0, Camacho 0, Escalambre 0, Miranda 0

DLSU (74): Rivero 23, Teng 22, Langston 8, Torres 7, Torralba 4, Caracut 3, Perkins 3, Muyang 3, Tratter 1, Go 0, Sargent 0

Quarter scores: 16-19, 34-37, 48-59, 75-74

– Rappler.com