DON’T count the Falcons out just yet.
Mathew Montebon saved Adamson's season with a cold-blooded three against University of the East, 63-61, as the Falcons forged a playoff with Ateneo for the last Final Four seat in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament.
Montebon fired 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists on top of four three-pointers - none bigger than the desperation trey he made from the deep left corner after Jack Cruz-Dumont's own trey had put UE infront, 61-60.
WATCH:
That enabled the Falcons to draw level with the Blue Eagles at 7-7 (win-loss) after a thrilling Sunday battle with the Warriors at the Mall of Asia Arena, setting the stage for a do-or-die for the last Final Four spot on Wednesday.
"During the shot, it was just a clear mind. Just playing basketball and then when it went in, I was like, oh shoot, and then, I had the whole crowd go crazy so I got kinda energetic and then the coaches told me to calm down and that was about it," said Montebon on the biggest shot of his Adamson career to date.
"We didn’t talk about what happened (Cruz-Dumont triple). Coach Gilbert designed the play because that was our possession so, hindi na kailangan pag-usapan yun yung nangyari. How do we approach the next possession, that’s what we did, and that’s what the players did — execute," Adamson head coach Nash Racela explained.
With elimination already imminent in the last six seconds of the game, the battle-tested Falcons fought with all their might, backs against the wall, to earn one last shot at the Final Four — in the exact same manner it did last year against La Salle.
Adamson and Ateneo will put it all on the line in the knockout game for a Final Four berth on Wednesday.
The scores:
AdU (63) – Montebon 16, Manzano 16, Magbuhos 10, Yerro 8, Hanapi 5, Ojarikre 3, Erolon 3, Barcelona 2, Colonia 0, Ramos 0, Barasi 0, Anabo 0.
UE (61) – Remogat 16, Momowei 15, Cruz-Dumont 13, Galang 5, Lingolingo 3, Tulabut 3, Gilbuena 3, Maglupay 2, Sawat 1, Langit 0, Alcantara 0, Spandonis 0.
Quarterscores: 16-16, 37-29, 45-47, 63-61.
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