PASAY—Adamson bounced back in style, reverting to its old sharp form in dismantling National U, 69-58, in the second game of Wednesday action of the UAAP Season 81 men’s seniors’ basketball tournament at the Mall Of Asia Arena.

The Falcons got into a shooting spree in the first half while warding off a fourth-quarter challenge by the Bulldogs to preserve the win, its sixth in eight matches, for a slice of top spot with defending champs Ateneo Blue Eagles.

The win also arrested the San Marcelino-based squad’s two-game slide after a dreamy 5-0 start.

Jerrick Ahanmisi and Papi Sarr caught fire early on, combining for 23 of the team’s 27 first-quarter output, then continued the onslaught the next quarter for a commanding 42-23 cushion.

But in the second half, the Bulldogs had repeated rallies to trim the lead to single digits, the last being 48-57 on Dave Ildefonso’s charity split at the 7:28 mark of the fourth period.

That proved to the NU’s last stand, as the Falcons responded with 12 more points to settle the outcome.

Ahanmisi finished with 21 points, 12 coming in the first 10 minutes, spiked on three triples. Sarr added 16 markers and 10 boards, while Sean Manganti churned in 11.

“This game, we played good in the first half but second half, we just went through the motion. But of course, NU played much better in the second half,” said winning coach Franz Pumaren.

Dave Ildefonso was the lone bright spot for NU, still at the cellar with a 2-6 card, with 21 points.

THE SCORES:

ADU 69 – Ahanmisi 21, Sarr 16, Manganti 11, Espeleta 8 , Lastimosa 5, Magbuhos 4, Camacho 2, Mojica 2, Pingoy 0, Catapusan 0, Zaldivar 0, Colonia 0, Macion 0

NU 58 – Ildefonso D 21, Gaye 8, Diputado 6, Clemente 5, Ildefonso S 5, Yu 3, Rike 2, Joson 2, Sinclair 2, Malonzo 2, Gallego 2, Aquino 0, Morido 0, Galinato 0, Tibayan 0

QUARTER SCORES: 27-11, 42-23, 54-45, 69-58
2 Attachments