SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Any champion basketball coach will tell you that rebounding is essential to winning rings.
On Saturday, August 16, the Adamson Soaring Falcons couldn’t grab a defensive rebound after playing good defense on consecutive possessions late in the fourth quarter, and it cost them their first win as the UST Growling Tigers escaped with a 61-59 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Growling Tigers improve back to .500 at 4-4, while the Soaring Falcons fall to 0-8.
“Si Aljon (Mariano), marami nakuhang offensive rebounds,” UST head coach Bong Dela Cruz said after the game.
(Aljon Mariano got a lot of offensive rebounds.)
“Kailangan namin mag build nang winning streak,” he added later on, referring to the second round of the UAAP season as his team is currently out of the Final Four picture.
(We need to build a winning streak.)
After sitting out the entire first half, UST big man Karim Abdul was inserted to start the third period as the Growling Tigers held on to a six-point lead.
“Gusto namin ma feel in Karim yung game, especially kung kailangan namin siya sa huli,” Dela Cruz explained the decision to play his big man a total of 4.5 minutes in the second half.
(We wanted Karim to feel the game, especially if we needed him late in the contest.)
The Cameroonian center missed his club’s last game against the UE Red Warriors on Wednesday, August 13, due to a viral infection.
“Right now, si Karim, nasa 60 percent palang,”according to Dela Cruz.
(Right now, Karim’s at 60 percent.)
Adamson rallied and re-captured the lead thanks to an Alex Inigo layup midway through the period. A couple of jumpers by Celedonio Trollano and Jansen Rios later on extended the Soaring Falcons’ edge to five, 49-44.
UST then amped up the pressure on defense, creating easy turnovers while crashing the offensive glass on the other side of the floor for second chance points.
A John Sheriff up-and-under bucket tied the match at 52, which remained the score of the game heading into the final quarter.
Both clubs exchanged baskets in the first half of the fourth quarter, with the score reading 59-58 in favor of Adamson with five minutes left in the game, as Abdul remained remained on the bench.
The score remained the same until a mid-range jumper by Louie Vigil with 1:51 remaining broke the quarter’s dry spell and gave the Growling Tigers a one-point lead.
Off the time-out, Adamson had a great opportunity to retake the lead but William Polican failed to convert an open three from the corner.
In the ensuing possessions, three different players took shots for the Growling Tigers, though the Falcons let their opponents get four straight offensive rebounds, leaving Coach Vince Hizon’s guys no choice but to foul and send Mariano to the line.
The fifth-year man, however, made only one of two, giving Adamson a chance to win or tie the game, 61-59, with 7.3 seconds left.
With the clock winding down, Polican had another great look at the corner, but failed to convert his jumper, sealing the loss for his club.
Vigil lead the a Growling Tigers in scoring, putting up 13 points. Ed Daquioag pitched in 11 points, while Kevin Ferrer and Renzo Subido had 8 markers each.
Mariano had 12 rebounds, but scored only 8 points on 3-of-17 shooting. UST, as a team, shot 5-of-28 from three-point range.
“Nag prapractice kami diyan,” Dela Cruz said about his team’s three-point shooting. “Kaso hindi lang pumapasok.”
(We’re practicing it. It just doesn’t go in.)
Rios finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds, but also had 8 turnovers. Trollano registered 16 and 10 for Adamson.
Adamson head coach Kenneth Duremdes missed his second straight game as he attends to personal matters abroad.
Scores
UST (61): Vigil 13, Daquioag 11, Ferrer 8, Subido 8, Mariano 7, Sheriff 7, Lao 5, Abdul 2, Faundo 0, Pe 0, Basibas 0, Lo 0
ADU (59): Rios 22, Trollano 16, Inigo 11, Donahue 4, Polican 3, Baytan 2, Garcia 1, Aquino 0, Nalos 0, Monteclaro 0, Pedrosa 0, Villanueva 0, Butron 0, Barrera 0
Quarter Scores: 19-12, 35-29, 52-52, 61-59
– Rappler.com
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