After seeing a 23-point lead vanish, the Adamson Soaring Falcons steadied their nerves and banked on a strong finish to topple the UE Red Warriors, finally put an end to their three-game slump in UAAP Season 88.
Adamson squandered a 23-point halftime cushion, but regained their composure with a strong fourth quarter to frustrate a gritty UE Red Warriors side, 77–62.
The Soaring Falcons snapped a three-game skid in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, Saturday, October 11, at the Blue Eagle Gym.
Ray Torres paced the Soaring Falcons with 16 points, while Earl Medina chipped in 15 as the head coach Nash Racela and his wards improved to 2–4 behind a much-needed victory.
After leading by as many as 23 in the opening half, Adamson found itself on the back foot when UE unleashed a blistering 33–12 third-quarter run to seize a 58–57 advantage entering the payoff period.
But the Soaring Falcons quickly regained control with an 11–2 blitz to start the fourth, capped by an Austin Ronzone triple, to go up 68–60.
From there, Adamson tightened its defense and limited UE to just four points the rest of the final canto to secure the much-needed victory — keeping UE as the only winless squad of the tournament at 0–5.
Adamson aims for back-to-back wins when it faces the UST Growling Tigers on October 18 at 4:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, UE looks to finally break through when it battles the FEU Tamaraws the following day, also at the Big Dome.
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.