Adamson University Soaring Falcons stunned the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 69-59, in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, October 19.
The Soaring Falcons have dictated the game from the beginning, denying multiple comeback attempts from the Growling Tigers.
“Malaking bagay ‘yung mga ganoong runs because a team like us, when you play the bigger programs, hindi puwedeng laging close games sa huli,” Soaring Falcons head coach Nash Racela said. “Sometimes nga even when we were up sa fourth quarter, nahahabol pa kami. ‘Yun ang target namin, as much as we can, we want to have a lead up to the end game. Ngayon nakatulong, we were able to manage it better today.”
Anthony Fransman led Adamson with 18 points, while Cedrick Manzano contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. Ray Torres finished the game with 10 points.
For the Growling Tigers, Nic Cabañero led the team with 23 points, while Collins Akowe was limited to 10 points but managed to get 16 rebounds.
Earlier that day, the National University Bulldogs held on to the top spot in the standings after surviving the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles in overtime, 71-66.
In the extra five minutes of the game, Paul Francisco scored 10 of his 13 points, leading the Bulldogs to a 5-1 win-loss record at the end of the first round of eliminations.
“Good win for us pero wala naman kaming pakialam kung nasaan kami ngayon. Ang importante kasi sa amin ay how we perform every game talaga. Hindi namin iniisip kung ano man ‘yung [standing namin], ang importante ‘yung growth ng players talaga,” said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Napa.
Jake Figueroa recorded a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while Nash Enriquez and Omar John combined for 23 points.
For the Blue Eagles, Jadem Lazo had 17 points, while Shawn Tuano finished the game with 15 points. Dom Escobar had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, with seven assists and five steals, while Ian Espinosa finished the game with 10 points and seven rebounds.
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With 30 seconds remaining in the game, it was already assured that the Soaring Falcons would win the game as they held an eight-point lead, 67-59. However, Austin Ronzone drove to the basket and had an uncontested layup, extending their margin to 10 points.
Controversy erupted after that layup with Ronzone, since there was an unwritten rule in Philippine basketball to just dribble out the ball in the last seconds when there is already a winning team.
“We’d like to take this chance to apologize to UST na nag-shoot pa kami sa huli. Galit na galit ‘yung mga coaches and ‘yung staff ng UST, but yeah, I just want to apologize to them,” Soaring Falcons head coach Nash Racela said.
“Wala, e, for me, it really did not mean anything. Kaya lang, nasanay tayong mga Pilipino na sa huli, huwag na i-shoot. Si Austin kasi is from the US, kaya that rule is something new to him, kumbaga.”
At the end, Racela explained on behalf of Ronzone that the point difference might matter in the future. At the end of the elimination round, the rules for classification of the UAAP are: winning percentage, one-game playoff if tied for #2 or #4 spot, head-to-head record, head-to-head point differential, and overall point differential.
Racela added, “I don’t know, baka kasi it might matter in the end so sana maintindihan na lang din nila kung saan kami nanggagaling. Let’s say he did it, ano rin ‘yun, e, sabi ko nga kanina, it might matter sa dulo kasi lagi kami nakaka-tie. Sana lang maintindihan na lang talaga nila.”
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Adamson University finished the first round of eliminations on a high note after defeating the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, settling just outside the top four of the standings with a 3-4 win-loss record.
The man behind that victory was second-year player Anthony Fransman, who led the team with 18 points, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Before their match against the Growling Tigers, he was only averaging 3.25 points per game.
“For me kasi, you mentioned nga na up-and-down nga ako, sabi lang sa akin nina Coach Nash (Racela) at Coach Gilbert (Lao) na subukan ko lang maging consistent. After ng maayos na game, try ko naman, at least i-align ko sa last game ko or do better,” he said after the game.
“‘Yung laging kong naiisip ay di pwede na ok ‘yung game ko against UE pero sa UST hindi, ‘yun lang ‘yung hinihingi sa akin ng mga coaches: maging consistent lang.”
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In regulation, Paul Francisco had a chance to score the game-winner, but unfortunately, he missed his shot, which extended the game into overtime. However, he perfectly found his rhythm in the next five minutes of the match, which eventually sealed their victory.
His inspiration was no other than his extended family coming all the way to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, to watch him play.
“I just thank them for coming because they truly boosted my confidence and gave me the energy to come through for my team. I just asked for composure and patience, and the confidence to do what the coaches needed me to do,” he said.
“Throughout the game, I told myself they’d want me to take the open shot because I was passing them up earlier and didn’t look confident.”
At the end of the day, Francisco said that he was glad his family was there to witness one of the best games of his UAAP career.
“Usually, when they come to watch and I don’t play well, they have a lot to say. But I think today, I’m just glad that they came to watch and I performed pretty well,” he ended.
