Falcons peck Tigers in double OT

Choking is slowly becoming an oddity for Adamson.

Forced into another gut-check situation yesterday, the Falcons turned their crunch-time clumsiness of old into newfound endgame poise as they turned back a stubborn University of Santo Tomas (UST) in double overtime, 81-76, to solidify their hold of second place in the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.

Janus Lozada racked up a career-high 19 points anchored on a modest 3-of-5 sniping from three-point country, including a make-or-break triple with 3.8 seconds left in the first overtime to forge the second extension where the Falcons dragged the Tigers into a maze of turnovers before icing the game from the stripe.

“They just refused to lose. Desire was the key,” Adamson coach Leo Austria said minutes after the Falcons survived another cardiac finish to move up at solo second with a 6-2 card. “We respect UST so much and we know they can beat us if we take them for granted.”

Yet in a match expected to be a cakewalk for the bigger and more experienced Falcons, Adamson found itself going toe-to-toe with the rookie-laden Tigers – hungered by a three-game losing skid – as both units battled it out for 10 deadlocks and 19 lead changes in an energy-draining contest that saw Adamson soar even without main man Alex Nuyles on the floor.

Nuyles, who scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the line, nailed four freethrows that sandwiched an Ed Daquioag triple and a pair of Carmelo Afuang charities, to put the Falcons within two, 67-69, before fouling out with 17.1 ticks left in the first OT.

That infraction sent Afuang back to the stripe but the stocky UST forward split his charities, leaving the door open for the Falcons who then banked on Lozada in the clutch for the second overtime-sending trifecta.

Eric Camson, Jerick Cañada, Jan Colina, and rookie Will Stinnett picked up from where Nuyles and Lozada left off come second OT as they keyed a 7-2 blitz that gave Adamson a 77-72 spread before UST threatened for the last time on back-to-back jumpers by Jeric Fortuna to cut the by one.

A Colina split put Adamson up by just a bucket with 23.4 seconds remaining, giving the Tigers a chance to equalize or seize the lead in the next possession. But a dribbling miscue by Fortuna in the Tigers’ last play with 4.8 ticks left doomed UST at the turn as Cabrera knocked in the front end of two gift shots before Colina followed up his missed second freethrow to seal the deal.

The Falcons drew 33 points off the Tigers’ 32 turnovers, including a passing miscue by UST rookie Paolo Pe that led to a Lozada fastbreak lay-up with 40.5 seconds left in regulation and Adamson ahead at 55-53, before Bautista went 2-of-2 from the line, sending the game into its first extra session.

Camson, the hero in Adamson’s nail-biting win over FEU, finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Stinnett added eight.

Chris Camus scored 17 points to lead the Tigers while Bautista and Fortuna chipped in 12 and 11, respectively.


The Scores:

ADU 81 – Lozada 19, Nuyles 15, Camson 11, Stinett 9, Galinato 8, Cañada 8, Colina 6, Manyara 2, Alvarez 2, Cabrera 1.

UST 76 – Camus 17, Bautista 12, Fortuna 11, Mariano 9, Afuang 9, Teng 7, Pe 6, Daquioag 5, Marata 0, Mamaril 0, Lo 0, Aytona 0.

Quarter scores: 14-12, 25-25, 45-44, 55-55 (reg.), 70-70, 81-76.

Anthony Divinagracia, UAAP Sports