UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) snapped a five-game slide but had to weather the late-game rally of Adamson University, 89-84, at the start of the second round of Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Fighting Maroons relied on their steady hands at the free-throw line to deny the Soaring Falcons of a possible comeback and avenged their 68-73 loss to the same team in the first round.
The victory improved UP’s mark to 3-5, while Adamson fell down deeper in the standings with 1-7 slate.
Henry Asilum led the Fighting Maroons’ balanced scoring with a career-high 19 points, while Jet Manuel added 16 markers and eight rebounds. Diego Dario and Agustini Amar contributed 14 and 13 points for the team of Head Coach Rensy Bajar.
Papi Sarr had another solid performance for Adamson with 16 points and 17 rebounds, while Jerome Garcia, the hero in their first win against UP, contributed 12 markers.
Garcia was responsible in putting his team back in the game with back-to-back triples, but the team of mentor Mike Fermin lost steam in the end to start the second round with a loss.
The Fighting Maroons led by as much as 15 points in the game, 62-47, but the Soaring Falcons threatened at 74-78 on the three-point play of JD Tungcab with 3:21 left in the game.
But Amar, Manuel and Dario hit crucial free throws to extend UP’s lead to 88-83 with 20.9 seconds remaining.
The Fighting Maroons’ three wins matched their highest total wince since 2007 with six more games left to play. The Diliman-based team finished with 3-11 win-loss mark in Seasons 71 and 72.
Image credits: Kevin de la Cruz