Adamson’s Anthony Fransman shines against UE in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Adamson finally caught a break after a tough stretch that put his UAAP 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament season in jeopardy.
Still licking the wounds of a five-game losing streak that took the Soaring Falcons out of the Final Four conversation before Wednesday afternoon, Adamson now has reason for hope after defeating third-seeded University of the East 45-37 ( UE) in the Mall of Asia Arena.
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“I thought October was going to be a ghost month for us, we had almost no wins that month,” coach Nash Racela said as the Falcons breathed new life into their dying semifinal hopes after improving to 4-7.
“It’s good that we were able to get the win towards the end of the month. This is something we really need,” Racela continued. “I would say that despite the five defeats in a row, our players are doing their part.
“But we told them to just keep doing the right things and eventually they will achieve victory. It’s good that we did it today.”
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It was a low-scoring game, but no one expected the Red Warriors, who had taken the league by storm with big wins en route to a 6-4 record, to be held to just 37 points.
Cold shooting for both
Even though Adamson struggled to connect – he made 17 of 59 from the field – his defense played a big role in limiting UE, as the Red Warriors were surprisingly limited to just three conversions from beyond the arc during their Key shooters John Abate and Wello Lingolingo, Rainer Maga and Ethan Galang, and big man Precious Momowei all had issues with the Falcons’ defense.
“I think our defense was really commendable. I looked at the stats, we were able to limit (UE’s scorers), and then when I looked at their three-point numbers, I was surprised that they only made three,” Racela said.
“That’s something we tried to take away and today we were successful.”
Matt Erolon and AJ Fransman teamed up to get the Soaring Falcons back on track as Adamson won for the first time since a 60-58 win over National University in the first round.
Erolon and Fransman finished the game with 14 points each, with Fransman scoring 13 of his points in the second half and also contributing nine rebounds.
Ced Manzano led the Falcons with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Adamson picked up his fourth win in 11 games.
Close shaves
These five straight losses, excluding the one against defending champion La Salle, have been close and this win could definitely give the Falcons the confidence they need in their last three games and that they need to overcome to think about advancing .
“We just want to take it one game at a time,” Racle said. “That’s always something we preach: you improve, acknowledge the mistakes, understand how to correct them, and eventually everything will be okay.
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“The good thing about the players is that they keep fighting even if sometimes you can’t paint their faces because of what we’ve been through. They still prevailed,” he added.