ADAMSON University pounced on National University (NU), 69-58, to regain a share of the lead in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball action on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Jerrick Ahanmisi and Papi Sarr were the Soaring Falcons’ 1-2 punch in the game and powered their team to its sixth victory against two losses to tie Ateneo at the top of the team standings.
“It’s like pothole—we will continue our journey. Along our ride, we will hit slight bumps,” Adamson Head Coach Franz Pumaren said.
Ahanmisi tallied 21 points and three rebounds, while Sarr added 16 points and 10 rebounds to Bulldogs to their sixth loss in eight outings.
Adamson University erected a 42-17 advantage in the two-minute mark of the second quarter, a lead NU couldn’t topple.
Dave Ildefonso topscored for the Bulldogs with 21 points and hauled down five rebounds. No other Bulldog finished in double figures with Issa Gaye finishing with eight points.
Encho Serrano, meanwhile, played true to his potential and helped De La Salle cruise past University of the East (UE), 79-59, in the other game.
Serrano, a rookie guard, scattered nine of his team-high 18 points in the third quarter when the Green Archers made a run and broke the game apart further en route to their fifth victory in eight games. They are now tied at third spot with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
“Going into this game, I told them that every win counts,” Green Archers Head Coach Louie Gonzales said.
“We respect UE, and we need to put on the work regardless of our opponent,” Gonzales added.
Serrano added six rebounds and two steals to notch his best game so far as a Green Archer. Andrei Caracut contributed 16 points and six rebounds, while Leonard Santillan and Justine Baltazar chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, for De La Salle.
Alvin Pasaol remained UE’s lone ranger and finished with a game-high 22 points with 17 rebounds. Chris Conner added 12 points and seven rebounds for UE, which got deeper into a 1-7 won-lost hole.
De La Salle was in control early with Kib Montalbo completing a three-point play to give his team a 44-28 lead midway the second quarter.
But it didn’t take long for the Red Warriors to find their groove as they trimmed the lead to only three, 49-46, on an 18-5 blitz with five minutes left in the third quarter.
The Green Archers, however, regrouped and responded with a 13-2 run highlighted by Serrano’s tip-in to end the period in control, 66-49.
With the bench players taking command in the final 10 minutes, the Taft-based squad never looked back for the easy ride.