UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) has momentum on its side and Adamson University has its back against the wall in the Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball no-tomorrow Final Four showdown on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With both teams hoping to end long title spells—UP last won the title in 1986 with a team led by Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc and Eric Altamirano and Adamson University its last in 1977 with Hector Calma manning the point—the do-or-die semifinals set at 3 p.m. is expected to go down the wire.
The winner will advance to the Finals against defending champion Ateneo, which cruised past Far Eastern University (FEU), 80-61, in the other Final Four pairing.
Playing inspired basketball, the Fighting Maroons put the duel on even footing after scoring a 73-71 win last Saturday, putting to naught the Soaring Falcon’s twice-to-beat advantage as the No. 2 seeds in the semifinals.
Bright Akhuetie scored the game-winner almost unmolested with 2.6 seconds left in the game. “Winning against Adamson University is not easy. Adamson is not No. 2 team for nothing,” UP Head Coach Bo Perasol said. “They’re a very resilient team. I kept on telling the boys that no matter what happens, we have to go through these kind of games. We’re just blessed that we got out victorious [in Game One].” The Soaring Falcons would surely refuse to let their guards down easily.
Unfazed by the huge momentum on UP’s side, Falcons Coach Franz Pumaren knew his boys showed their resiliency in the first game despite the loss.
“Do I look concerned about it? I guess we should have gotten the victory in spite of us playing bad. That’s a very good sign,” Pumaren said.
“We played well, but we were down the whole game. And when we started playing the right system, the right brand of game, we were able to get back the lead,” he added.
Saturday’s game was nip-and-tuck all the way until the Nigerian big man Akhuetie, who was silent all day, nailed the inside stab from a perfect Juan Gomez de Liaño assist.
Scoreless in the first half, Paul Desiderio was all fired up in the final 20 minutes to topscore for UP with 19 points he iced with eight rebounds and four assists.
De Liaño added 19 points and nine boards.
Ateneo, meanwhile, sustained its solid form in a 4-1 win over University of Santo Tomas in juniors football action on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Luard Abaa and Kendryx Soriano scored first-half goals, while Andy Roxas and Austin Basconcillio also put their names in the score sheet for the Blue Eaglets.
Following up its season-opening 1-0 victory over De La Salle-Zobel, Ateneo solidified its hold of the top of the table with six points.
Defending eight-time champion FEU-Diliman and National University battled to a goalless draw in the other match.