THE UST Growling Tigers suffered their third straight loss after bowing to the Adamson Soaring Falcons in overtime, 97-96, in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
UST squandered an 88-80 lead in the dying seconds, missing five free throws that allowed Adamson to storm back and complete a sweep of their head-to-head series.
Colins Akowe racked up a double-double to lead UST with 19 points and 14 boards, while Mark Llemit broke out with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four triples.
Akowe and Nic Cabañero sparked a 6-0 blitz late in the opening quarter to tie the game, 20-all, before Falcon Austin Ronzone beat the buzzer with a three-pointer.
UST struggled to defend the perimeter as Adamson dropped four long bombs to extend its lead to 47-42 at the end of the half.
In the third frame, the Tigers clamped down on defense as a three-pointer from Paranda sparked a huge 15-2 run to retake the lead, 57-51.
The España squad continued to hold on to the lead courtesy of a Padrigao three-pointer and a Gelo Crisostomo layup, 64-59.
Llemit waxed hot in the fourth salvo, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the quarter alone to help balloon UST’s lead to as much as 11 points, 77-66.
Free throws from Ray Torres and a three-ball from Mathew Montebon brought the lead down to four, 88-84.
A costly turnover from UST resulted in a clutch three from Montebon to force extra five minutes, 89-all.
Both teams traded blows in overtime, but the Falcons came out on top after Erolon drained another clutch three to claim victory.
Torres led Adamson’s offense with 20 points, while Montebon and Cedrick Manzano finished with 19 points apiece
Guards Forthsky Padrigao and Kyle Paranada added 14 points each for UST.
The Tigers slipped down to fifth in the standings with a 5-4 win-loss record and are set to go toe-to-toe against the UP Fighting Maroons on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the same venue. F
