National University survived Adamson's fourth quarter comeback to eke out a 71-69 win yesterday as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 84 men's basketball tournament made its return at the Mall of Asia Arena after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bulldogs rookie Janjan Felicilda led NU with 14 points on a 6-of-12 shooting to go with four rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
Robert Minerva and John Lloyd Clemente chalked up eight points apiece while Jake Figueroa and Reyland Torres contributed seven points each. John Martin Galinato, Issa Gaye, and Geremy Mahinay also delivered five points each for NU.
Bulldogs head coach Jeff Napa, however, wasn't satisfied with his wards after crumbling to Adamson's offense and zone defense especially in the payoff period.
"Medyo hindi ako happy sa naging result ng game namin (I'm quite unhappy with the result)," said Napa in a virtual post-match press conference. "Kailangan pa rin naming mag-improve. Coming nito the last quarter, we have a big lead then we're struggling 'pag dating ng fourth quarter. Siguro 'yong execution 'yong kailangan naming ayusin (We still need to improve. We had a big lead coming into the last quarter but then struggled later on. We need to fix our execution next game)."
With Adamson trailing by two points, 71-69, Jerom Lastimosa, with plenty of time to execute Adamson's last play, had the chance to take the game away but missed a triple from way beyond the arc.
Ricky Peromingan got the offensive rebound but muffed both free throws after he was fouled with 0.9 seconds left.
Adamson's Ahmad Hanapi topscored with 20 points on top of five rebounds and a perfect six-of-six shooting in the perimeter.
Lastimosa fired 18 points with two rebounds, and two assists, while Jose Manuel Sabandal and Lenda Douanga chipped in 11 points apiece.
With Lastimosa and Douanga leading the charge, the Falcons trimmed the halftime 10-point deficit to six, 54-48, thanks to a 10-0 run midway in the third quarter.
Adamson took its first lead of the game after a Lastimosa drive, 57-56, before the two squads continued to exchange baskets early in the fourth quarter.
Tied at 67-all, Figueroa fired a midrange jumper and Gaye soared to tip in the ball off the former's missed shot en route to a 71-67 lead. Lastimosa, with a minute to work on, drained a pair of free throws before attempting to go for the buzzer-beater.
The Scores:
NU 71 -- Felicilda 14, Minerva 8, Clemente 8, Figueroa 7, Torres 7 Galinato 6, Gaye 6, Mahinay 6, Malonzo 5, Ildefonso 2, Manansala 2, Joson 0, Yu 0, Enriquez 0, Tibayan 0.
ADAMSON 69 -- Hanapi 20, Lastimosa 18, Sabandal 11, Douanga 11, Zaldivar 3, Manzano 2, Yerro 2, Colonia 1, Magbuhos 1, Peromingan 0, Jaymalin 0, Barasi 0, Erolon 0.
Quarters: 19-13, 38-28, 54-48, 71-69.