by Waylon Galvez
Games Saturday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
2 p.m. – Adamson vs UE
4 p.m. – UST vs UP
Adamson formalized its entry to the Final Four with a resounding 96-83 win over University of Santo Tomas in the 81st UAAP men’s basketball yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Sean Manganti led a balanced attack by the Falcons with 22 points, while Jerrick Ahanmisi added 13 points in the win that sent Adamson to the semifinal stage for the third straight year.
In a show of force, Cameroonian center Papi Sarr had 11 points and 14 rebounds, while center Simon Camacho came off the bench to hit 15 points, and guard Jerom Lastimosa contributed 10 points.
Adamson’s win improved its record to 9-3, which also moved the team close to earning a twice-to-beat incentive in the semifinal round – a feat it achieved in last season’s UAAP.
Adamson joined defending champion and league-leader Ateneo (10-2) in the semifinals as the Blue Eagles claimed a spot with a 62-48 win against the Falcons last Sunday.
In the other game, La Salle clinched a semis playoff with an 84-77 win over National University.
With the win La Salle hiked its record to 8-4 while eliminating NU from the race as it dropped to 3-9.
“Well, of course, we are happy reaching the Final Four,” said Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren. “But we’ve been doing that for the last two years. Hopefully, we can improve our finish for this year.”
“If you look at the game, we’re playing tight in the first half, but when we settled down with our regular rotation, we were able to dispose of a very good team,” he added.
UST fell to 5-7, one game behind University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University as both are currently tied for fourth to fifth spots at 6-6 in the race for the last playoff berth.
First game:
ADAMSON 96 – Manganti 22, Camacho 15, Ahanmisi 13, Sarr 11, Lastimosa 10, Pingoy 9, Mojica 8, Magbuhos V. 4, Catapusan 2, Bernardo 2, Zaldivar 0, Espeleta 0.
UST 83 – Subido 21, Lee 18, Cansino 17, Huang 8, Mahinay 8, Zamora 7, Bataller 2, Caunan 2, Marcos 0.
Quarters: 21-20; 39-40; 70-58; 96-83.
Second game:
LA SALLE 84 – Santillan 18, Melecio 13, Caracut 13, Baltazar 11, Manuel 10, Dyke 6, Go 6, Bates 4, Serrano 3, Capacio 0, Corteza 0.
NU 77 – Ildefonso D. 20, Clemente 19, Gallego 7, Yu 7, Ildefonso S. 5, Rike 4, Gaye 4, Joson 4, Sinclair 3, Diputado 2, Malonzo 2, Aquino 0, Galinato 0, Morido 0, Salim 0.
Quarters: 17-13; 38-40; 65-62; 84-77.
