Apag lifts Adamson past UP for first win

Adamson University escaped the University of the Philippines, 67-60, for its first win in the UAAP Season 89 collegiate women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Lady Falcons snapped their two-game losing streak to enter the win column, tying UP for fourth place with identical 1-2 records.

“The first two games were eye-opening for us, but credit also to the players. We’re a team where we can force top teams to give out their best,” said Adamson head coach Jed Colonia. “We just have to stay composed, para di kami makampante.”

After opening the season with the league’s highest turnover average at 23.5 per game, the Lady Falcons did a much better job of taking care of the ball, committing just 13 turnovers compared to the Fighting Maroons’ 18.

“It’s really a very good improvement for us in the way we took care of the ball. Basically that’s it, we took care of the ball very well,” Colonia added.

Adamson came out firing, with Elaine Etang leading the charge as the Lady Falcons raced to a 16-6 lead in the opening quarter.

UP fought back in the second frame, with Shane Cunanan’s three-pointer tying the game at 31-all with a minute remaining in the half. However, Nadine Muñoz beat the buzzer to give Adamson a 36-33 lead at halftime.

The Fighting Maroons forced another deadlock at 40-all early in the third quarter, but the Lady Falcons responded with a 10-3 run in the final two minutes of the frame to restore control.

Holding a 50-43 advantage entering the final quarter, Adamson pulled further ahead with a 7-0 run to open the fourth.

The Lady Falcons then held off UP for the remainder of the game to complete the wire-to-wire victory.

“Sobrang saya lang kasi lahat nag-contribute. Sobrang saya din talaga kasi lahat ng mga teammates ko, nakikita ko talaga na gusto nila manalo,” said senior Cheska Apag.

Apag led all scorers with 23 points, while Etang contributed 16 points on 50 percent shooting, along with three rebounds and two steals.

Cunanan paced UP with 14 points and five rebounds, while Louna Ozar added 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

Adamson will look to build on its momentum when it faces the University of the East on Sunday at the same Pasay venue.

UP, meanwhile, will take on De La Salle University, also on Sunday.