Adamson cruised past University of the East with a 65-53 win in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Sunday, May 1.
The Soaring Falcons used a strong quarter to mount a huge lead and pull away for good behind the efforts of Joem Sabandal and Vince Magbuhos.
But the Falcons are clinging on to fate as they needed to force a three-way tie with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws and the National University Bulldogs at 6-8 record.
FEU and NU winning against University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle, respectively, which are battling against each other at press time, could spell doom for Adamson with an automatic boot out of the Final Four contention.
Falcons coach Nash Racela and his wards have taken care of their own business and ended the elimination round with a 6-8 card.
"We took care of business today (Sunday) but there's still a lot of things to improve on," said Racela. "It's a continuous growth for the team and for the players. As coaches we just can't fail on the right things."
Sabandal led the Falcons with 15 points on a 6-of-10 shooting along with five rebounds while Magbuhos had a double-double performance of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists.
Jerom Lastimosa added seven points, five rebounds, and five assists while Ricky Peromingan had seven points as well to go with nine rebounds and three assists.
The Red Warriors cut their 15-point deficit down to three early in the payoff period, 47-44, before the Falcons uncorked a commanding 15-6 blast to take the game away with 1:10 left, 62-50.
Harvey Pagsanjan paced UE, which remained winless in 14 games this season, with 13 points and five rebounds, Kyle Paranada had 12 points, while Clint Escamis chipped in nine points, 15 rebounds, and four assists.
The Scores:
Adamson 65 - Sabandal 15, Magbuhos 11, Lastimosa 7, Peromingan 7, Hanapi 6, Yerro 6, Zaldivar 5, Manzano 4, Douanga 3, Colonia 1, Jaymalin 0, Barasi 0, Maata 0, Erolon 0, Calisay 0, Fuentebella 0.
UE 53 - Pagsanjan 13, Paranada K 12, Escamis 9, Cruz 8, Paranada N 5, Lorenzana 2, Sawat 2, Villanueva 2, Antiporda 2, Beltran 0, Abatayo 0, Guevarra 0, Tulabut 0, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 15-16, 30-22, 47-42, 65-53.