National University clawed out of an 11-point hole to drop the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 56-54, in their UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament matchup Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Bulldogs, who absorbed their first loss in the tournament in their last game against the University of the Philippines, dropped a massive 15-2 bomb late to grab the come-from-behind win.
Jake Figueroa spearheaded NU with 17 points, three assists, three steals, two blocks and two rebounds. Jolo Manansala and Gelo Santiago chipped in nine markers for NU, which rose to 4-1 this season.
‘Credit sa mga players, especially itong dalawa. Siyempre, actually, hindi lang sila. Grabe yung defense namin, kasi hindi kami makahulog e. Grabe yung shooting, field goal percentage namin,’ NU head coach Jeff Napa said.
‘At least, confidence lang to take the shot, to take the risk, hats off sa kanila and alam nilang binigay nila kahit anong nangyari. Players na yun, hindi na ako yun. Players na nagpanalo nun, it’s all their heart, it’s all their effort,’ he added.
The game was tight through the final minutes of the third quarter, with a split from the line by Mark Parks making it a one-point deficit, 38-39, with two minutes left in the frame.
But back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by AJ Fransman and Monty Montebon gave Adamson a commanding 48-38 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
Steve Nash Enriquez snapped the blitz with a triple of his own, but deuces by Matty Erolon and OJ Ojarikre gave the Soaring Falcons a 52-41 lead.
However, this turned out to be the only points of Adamson in the next four minutes as the Bulldogs bared their teeth both on offense and defense.
Eleven straight points by NU, capped by a Figueroa jumper, tied things up at 52-all with 2:26 remaining.
A short stab by Cedrick Manzano gave Adamson the lead anew, 54-52, but an and-one play by Figueroa pushed Adamson ahead for good, 55-54.
On the other end, Fransman had the chance to answer back, but his layup missed.
After a miss by Santiago in the next possession, Adamson had the chance to go for the win, but Figueroa stole the ball. He then sank a layup to put the cherry on top of NU’s comeback victory.
Manzano paced Adamson with 16 points and four rebounds, while Earl Medina had nine markers for the 1-4 Falcons.
NU shot 18-of-55 from the field good for 32.7%, compared to Adamson’s 33.3% shooting. However, the Bulldogs made 17 of their 24 free throws, compared to Adamson’s 10-of-13 clip.
Adamson will try to snap their three-game losing streak against the still-winless University of the East Red Warriors on Saturday at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City. On the other hand, the Sampaloc-based squad will take on the La Salle Green Archers on Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.