Adamson stays alive, forces playoff for last semis ticket

Game Wednesday:

(MOA Arena)

6:30 p.m. --- Adamson vs UE

Adamson University forced a playoff for the last Final Four ticket by dismantling Ateneo de Manila University, 69-55, to close the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball elimination round Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Royce Mantua picked the perfect time to explode, finishing with 14 points on a near-perfect 7-of-8 field goal shooting as the Falcons kept their semifinals hopes alive.

Adamson closed the elims with a 6-8 win-loss record, tied with University of the East to forge a sudden death on Wednesday for the right to face defending champion and twice-to-beat De La Salle University in the Final Four.

The Falcons hold the momentum heading into playoff after winning three of their last four games while the Red Warriors finished the second round with five straight losses.

This position was all too familiar for Adamson, having been in the playoff for that no. 4 spot in the last two seasons, losing to the Blue Eagles in Season 86 while beating the Green Archers in Season 85.

“We’re willing to do that every year if that’s our shot to make it to the Final Four,” Adamson head coach Nash Racela.

“It’s our defense. As we said it’s our ticket to being competitive as a team which we missed the last time we played UST. We went back to our old ways today,” he continued.

Andrew Bongo tried to put some life in the Blue Eagles in the fourth frame, draining a three-pointer with 6:40 left to cut their deficit to within a single digit, 49-58.

Adamson responded with two treys courtesy of Joshua Yerro and Manu Anabo to restore their cushion, 64-49, with 4:55 remaining.

“We all know that this is gonna be our final chance to compete in the Final Four so we all really have to play our A-game and my shots came knocking down. I’m very happy we all played each other’s parts really well especially on defense,” Mantua said.

Anabo scored 13 points while Matt Erolon had 11 markers with both nailing three treys each for the Falcons.

Fifth-year player Jhon Calisay was ejected with 31.3 seconds remaining in the second quarter after incurring two technical fouls. He was first slapped with a technical for taunting due to his celebration after making a shot before being called for delaying the game.

The Blue Eagles ended their campaign at rock bottom with a 4-10 record.

Jared Bahay paced Ateneo with 14 points on 14 shots while Ian Espinosa backed him up with 10 points.

Graduating guard Chris Koon tallied 10 points and three rebounds in his final game in a Blue Eagles jersey. Sean Quitevis, likewise, had played his last match for Ateneo.

The Scores:

ADAMSON (69) --- Mantua 14, Anabo 13, Erolon 11, Fransman 8, Calisay 6, Manzano 6, Yerro 5, Ramos 4, Ojarikre 2, Montebon 0, Barasi 0, Ronzone 0, Dignadice 0, Barcelona 0, Alexander 0, Ignacio 0.

ATENEO (55) --- Bahay 14, Espinosa 10, Koon 10, Porter 7, Bongo 4, Tuano 4, Lazaro 3, Quitevis 2, Ong 1, Gamber 0, Espina 0, Asoro 0, Edu 0, Reyes 0.

Quarters: 16-15, 37-33, 51-46, 69-55.