By NIKOLE JAVIER
Matthew Montebon buried a three-pointer with just 2.7 ticks lift and helped power Adamson to a pulsating 63-61 win over University of the East and into a playoff with Ateneo for the last semis berth in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After Montebon drained that all-important basket, the Warriors had one last time to win the game but Jack Cruz-Dumont, who earlier gave UE the lead for the last time, misfired this time, allowing Adamsin to escape with win.
Adamson finished with a 7-7 record, tying the defending champion Ateneo Eagles for fourth place, thus requiring a playoff for the last semis slot.
The playoff is set on Wednesday in a game expected to be an emotional one, giving the “word war” between Ateneo’s Tab Baldwin and Adamson’s Nash Racela.
Montebon went on to finish with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Cedrick Manzano, for his part, had a double-double outing of 16 popints and 10 rebounds, while Vince Magbuhos added 10 points.
The closely-contested match saw both squads knotted at 47-all in the early goings of the fourth period before Adamson briefly pulled away and built a 57-52 gap on Joshua Yerro’s three throws with 4:10 left.
However, UE countered with six unanswered points capped by returning Precious Momowei’s jumper to snatch the lead, 57-58.
With only 11 seconds to go, the Soaring Falcons found themselves on the brink of elimination as Jack Cruz-Dumont fired a triple to give the Red Warriors a slim 61-60 advantage.
Rey Remogat and Momowei paced the Red Warriors with double-double performances with the former tallying 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Momowei added 15 pointsand also grabbed 11 rebounds.
After a promising start, UE wound up with a 4-10 slate to end its Season 86 campaign.
The scores:
ADAMSON 63 – Montebon 16, Manzano 16, Magbuhos 10, Yerro 8, Hanapi 5, Ojarikre 3, Erolon 3, Barcelona 2, Colonia 0, Ramos 0, Barasi 0, Anabo 0.
UE 61 – Remogat 16, Momowei 15, Cruz-Dumont 13, Galang 5, Lingolingo 3, Tulabut 3, Gilbuena 3, Maglupay 2, Sawat 1, Langit 0, Alcantara 0, Spandonis 0.
Quarters 16-16, 37-29, 45-47, 63-61.
