Manila , Philippines - Adamson university won the game with strong defense, fast-break plays, and well-executed offensive plays against the Ateneo. Soaring Falcons clipped the defending UAAP champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, 74-70, on Sunday, September 9 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Jerrick Ahanmisi delivered a stellar outing to finish with 23 points and Sarr had eight markers of his own on top of nine rebounds. Lastimosa contributed a total of six points, four assists, and three rebounds in just 12 impactful minutes of action. , including a key bucket after he was left wide-open for an easy drive, 70-68, in the last 1:09 of regulation.

Blue Eagles mentor Tab Baldwin acknowledged such. “If you’re gonna point to one statistic, point to the fact that Adamson was hungrier when it came to the boards in the second half. If you’re not the hungrier team, I don’t care how good you are, you open the door up for your opponent,” he told reporters post-game.

He then continued, “Today, we weren’t the hungrier team.”

The defense held up its end as well by shackling the Ateneo offense to just 28 percent shooting.

Matt Nieto was the lone efficient Blue Eagle with 21 points in 5-of-12 shooting. Ravena, for his part, struggled with just seven points in 25 percent shooting as they suffered a surprising setback to open their title defense. Mariquita Pangilinan

BOX SCORES

ADAMSON 74 – Ahanmisi 23, Magbuhos 10, Sarr 8, Espeleta 7, Catapusan 7, Lastimosa 6, Manganti 4, Pingoy 3, Mojica 3, Camacho 2, Colonia 1, Bernardo 0

ATENEO 70 – Nieto Ma 21, Verano 10, Ravena 7, Asistio 7, Go 6, Navarro 5, Mendoza 5, Nieto Mi 4, Black 4, Kouame 1, Wong 0, Tio 0, Belangel 0

QUARTER SCORES: 18-20, 40-39, 55-51, 74-70