WILD FINISH
There are things that Adamson hasn’t seen quite often—a win over the University of the Philippines, for example.
The Falcons had lost 11 of its 12 previous games against the Maroons, and their only victory in that stretch came three years ago.
Then there are things Adamson coach Nash Racela hasn’t seen before—at all.
For instance, a four-on-five situation on the court.
“That’s the first time in my career that I’ve seen that happen,” Racela said on Wednesday, after Adamson added to its paltry win count against UP with a tense 62-59 victory in UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball action.
“Only four guys on the court were playing. I don’t know, I can’t really explain that.”
Amid the confusion, Racela and the Falcons somehow found enough clarity to send UP to a 0-2 start and hand coach Goldwin Monteverde his first back-to-back losses in the elimination round. Ray Allen Torres’ game-winning triple was hugely responsible for that.
But the ear-to-ear smiles after the game were not evident on the Falcons’ faces during the game due to some confusion over officiating that needed sorting out.
“From start to finish, we were neck and neck but I just don’t know what to say about the officiating,” Racela said after the win at the University of Santo Tomas’ Quadricentennial Pavilion.
“We were so confused earlier. We wanted to adjust for the referees but we were pretty confused.”
Costly call
Before Torres’ dagger triple with 2.8 seconds to go in the game, AJ Fransman was whistled for a technical foul after continuous complaints on an out-of-bounds play at the 2:30 mark of the fourth.
Considering the score at the time was 57-56 in favor of State U, Racela and company were surprised to see that kind of costly call made in the latter part of the game.
But the drama didn’t end there. During a particular rebound play at the 1:31 mark of the fourth, Adamson’s Cedrick Manzano and UP’s Francis Nnoruka were called for double fouls in the paint.
When Manzano was ejected due to five personal fouls, the referees failed to usher in his supposed replacement, forcing the unusual five vs. four situation that ran for roughly 10 seconds.
“I really don’t know. Like I’ve been saying, we are really trying to understand [the referees] but today, there was a bit of confusion … I was expecting them to rewind [the play] but nothing happened,” Racela said.
Adamson clinched a 1-1 (win-loss) record with the win fashioned out through balanced contributions from its standouts. Torres and Fransman finished with 10 points each, enough to lead the Falcons’ scoring list.
Eagles triumph
The defending champions, who have yet to find their rhythm this season, wasted Gerry Abadiano’s 15-point outing.
Adamson’s next foe will be Ateneo, which rode another tight win to the top of the standings.
The Blue Eagles squeaked past the University of the East Red Warriors, 62-60, for a second straight win hardly anyone saw coming.
Down two in the last 31.9 seconds after UE’s Wello Lingolingo drained a clutch three, Kymani Ladi played her for the second straight outing and buried the game-winner.
“Not the best performance but I thought it was gusty and we made the plays we thought we had to make,” coach Tab Baldwin said after notching his 101st career win in the UAAP as an Ateneo tactician.
“I give credit to UE for making a tough game out of it,” he added.
The Red Warriors lost a second straight game.
The Eagles and the Falcons clash on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
