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| Chris Camus stepped up to help the Tigers roar from behind and steal their 7th win. (image from FullCourtFresh.com) |
UST Growling Tigers over the AdU Soaring
Falcons, 74-58
Who went
from 17 up some time in the 1st half to 16 down by game’s end?
Hello,
Adamson. Welcome to the land of WTH happened?!?!
Night and
day. That’s what happened.
Simply put,
both teams morphed after heading to the lockers at the half. The UST Growling
Tigers rediscovered their bite while the Adamson Soaring Falcons forgot their
talons.
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| Alex Nuyles was part of Adamson's hot start, but he faded down the stretch as UST made its run. (image from FullCourtFresh.com) |
Adamson
blasted UST 42-27 in the first 2 periods, and then coach Pido Jarencio’s feral
felines returned the favor in the last 2 periods, 47-16. So unforeseen was
UST’s turnaround that coach Leo Austria was forced to call two timeouts almost
immediately one after the other in the 3rd quarter. Those came
amidst a 16-1 UST run that all but shattered the aura of invincibility
Adamson’s cagers worked so hard to build.
And though
the Falcons were able to get some jabs in before the end of the 3rd
period, it was clear where the momentum was.
And who
should be credited for giving coach Pido an advanced birthday gift? The Tigers’
savage six: Karim Abdul, Chris Camus, Kevin Ferrer, Jeric Teng, Jeric Fortuna
and (nope not Melo Afuang – he’s out for a couple more weeks due to a
gallstones operation) former Judanite superstar Kim Lo.
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| Jeric "The Gunslinger" Teng made several big shots that eradicated Adamson's sizeable advantage. (image from FullCourtFresh.com) |
Out of a
possible 200 combined playing minutes, these 6 players gobbled up 177, with all
but Lo spending at least 29 minutes on the floor. And nobody outside of that
sextet saw the light of day in the 2nd half.
The Tigers,
behind the hot hands of Jeric Fortuna and the now-christened “Gunslinger” Jeric
Teng, outshot the Falcons 43% to 32% from the field and 47% to 17% from the
parking lot. UST’s defense, however, was at least as big a factor in turning
the tables on Adamson. Nobody outside of Alex Nuyles finished in double figures
and, after their blistering start, the Falcons could hardly get the rock into
the hole in the last two quarters. UST lorded it in terms of rebounds, too. The
trio of Camus, Teng and Abdul alone collared as many boards as the entire
Adamson team (33).
For the
Tigers, this come-from-behind win should boost their morale as two tough
encounters are on the horizon (FEU on Thursday and NU on Sunday). As long as
the two Jerics can hit their stride and Camus & Abdul can hold the line,
then the Black & Gold are shoo-ins for the Final Four. The Falcons,
meanwhile, are in possibly the worst position going into their climactic clash
with the immaculate Blue Eagles on Saturday. A win would’ve given them great
momentum heading into their last elimination round game, but they’ll come off a
disappointing defeat instead. Clearly, the immediate fortunes of UST and
Adamson might be night and day as well.
UST 74 – Teng 20, Fortuna 15, Abdul 15,
Camus 13, Lo 6, Ferrer 5, Pe 0, Ungria 0, Sheriff 0, Tan 0, Lao 0
AdU 58 – Nuyles 14, Brondial 9, Camson
8, Lozada 6, Alvarez 6, Etrone 6, Cabrera 5, Colina 4, Cañada 0, Manyara 0,
Petilos 0, Manuel 0
QS: 12-20, 27-42, 52-50, 74-58
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