Adamson thwarts UE’s upset bid, extends Red Warriors’ skid to 26

Raphael Gabriele Lloren

Adamson University weathered a third-quarter scoring drought to deny the University of the East, 71–64, handing the Red Warriors their 26th consecutive loss in the UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Oct. 11.

The Soaring Falcons bounced back from their lopsided loss to National University to improve to a 3–2 record, tying defending champion La Salle for third place.

Ray Torres topscored for the Falcons after with 17 points to go with three rebounds and three assists.

Rookie Nigerian center Precious Jonah delivered a steady two-way performance with 14 markers, seven boards, three steals, and one block, while Matt Erolon added 12 points and Earl Medina chipped in 11 on perfect 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

Adamson opened their offensive floodgates in the first half after exploding by as much as 55 points—a notable output for a team averaging 68.75 points entering the contest—to engineer a game-high 22-point deficit lead into the break.

However, the Falcons’ offense went ice-cold in the third canto, managing just three points as UE poured in 17 to trim the deficit to just eight points, 57–49.

“We weren’t really surprised with how UE played in the second half because I always remind my players that UE is also due for a win. They’ve been playing a lot better the last three games… So I’m really challenging our players to do a lot better,” said Adamson head coach Nash Racella.

Regrouping just in time, the white-clad troops opened the first minute final period with six points, gaining back a comfortable 63–49 lead.

From then on, UE’s efforts were kept at bay, as they could not cut the gap to fewer than seven points.

Tope Lagat paced the Red Warriors in the losing effort with 22 points, four rebounds, two steals, and one block.

Another defeat would leave UE one loss away from matching the league’s second-longest losing streak of 27 games, set by the UP Fighting Maroons from Seasons 75 to 77 in 2012-14.