JERICHO CRUZ took over in the waning moments as Adamson nosed out National University, 68-66, on Saturday in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Cruz scored four in an 8-0 blast to power the Falcons to their third win in five outings.
Adamson climbed to solo third after limiting NU to only a field goal in the last five minutes of the game.
The Falcons bounced back after bowing to struggling Ateneo last week.
“I’m happy to see that the players were upbeat and we had good practices in the last few days,” said Adamson coach Leo Austria. “Everybody was so focused and everybody wants to win,”
Cruz finished with 18 points in the rousing victory after scoring back-to-back baskets that made it 68-63 with 1:36 left in the game.
Roider Cabrera had 12 points while Don Trollano made a good account of himself with seven points including four in the fourth.
Ingrid Sewa grabbed 13 rebounds, while Rodney Brondial also had six blocks and swatted two crucial shots from the Bulldogs side to avert a comeback.
The Bulldogs still had a chance to win the game but Robin Rono missed an open triple as time expired.
NU suffered its second straight loss after bowing to FEU on Wednesday. NU fell to 3-3, joining University of the East in fourth place.
Emmanuel Mbe had 17 points and 11 rebounds while Bobby Ray Parks added 15 markers for the Bulldogs.
The scores:
Adamson (68) – Cruz 18, Cabrera 12, Trollano 7, Sewa 6, Petilos 5, Rios 4, Monteclaro 4, Brondial 4, Agustin 4, Julkipli 2, Inigo 2, Ochea 0, Abrigo 0.
NU (66) – Mbe 17, Parks 15, Javillonar 10, Rono 6, Perez 5, Villamor 4, Alolino 4, Javelona 3, Porter 2, Rosario 0, Khobuntin 0, De Guzman 0, Alejandro 0.
Quarterscores: 17-16; 32-28; 48-48; 68-66.
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