Matt Erolon made sure the Adamson Soaring Falcons wouldn’t squander a 10-point fourth-quarter lead for the second straight game.
The Adamson guard drilled a go-ahead triple with 30.7 seconds left to lift the Soaring Falcons past the La Salle Green Archers, 63-60, on Sunday evening at the Blue Eagle Gym in the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
It was a far different ending from the one Adamson suffered last Wednesday, when it let a 55-45 fourth-quarter lead slip away in a 69-67 loss to the UP Fighting Maroons.
Erolon Breaks the Deadlock for Adamson
Adamson led, 51-41, going into the fourth, but La Salle fought back and tied the game at 58. Then both teams went scoreless for almost two minutes. Erolon ended the drought. With Jcee Macalalag caught on a screen set by Precious Jonah, the Adamson guard found himself open at the top of the key and buried the three for a 61-58 lead.
Manu Anabo then sank both free throws to stretch the lead to 63-58 with 9.3 seconds left. Henry Agunanne turned Mason Amos’ missed three-pointer into a putback to cut the deficit to three, but the Soaring Falcons ran out the clock after a timeout.
“Sobrang saya sa binigay na tiwala sa akin ni Coach Nash. Nung nasa bench ako, inisip ko lang na stay composed lang. Tied game eh,” said Erolon, who finished with 14 points.
Adamson head coach Nash Racela, for his part, was delighted with where the team stands. “We should be happy with where we are at right now. To be honest, as a coach, I knew what we could do as a group; I could see our potential, but I apologize to my players; they really surprised me, the whole team. I wasn’t expecting to be at this point after the first round,” he said.
Standings Shuffle
The win lifts Adamson to 4-3 to close the first round, tying the Far Eastern Tamaraws and the UST Growling Tigers for third place. The Soaring Falcons take the No. 3 spot through head-to-head wins over the Tamaraws, 56-53, and the Growling Tigers, 85-57.
The defending champion Green Archers, meanwhile, fell to 3-4 and are tied with the Ateneo Blue Eagles for sixth place.
Mathew Montebon added 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists for Adamson.
Agunanne led La Salle with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. Jacob Cortez also scored 12 and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but committed five turnovers. Earl Abadam chipped in 9 points but shot just 3-of-10 and missed all five of his three-point attempts.
Adamson next takes on FEU on Saturday, October 24, at the Blue Eagle Gym, while La Salle returns to action on Wednesday, October 21, when it faces the winless UE Red Warriors.
