LA Salle averted a collosal meltdown and pulled off a 61-58 win over Adamson on Saturday in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Green Archers led by 10 in the third quarter but found itself trailing by eight, 53-45, after the Soaring Falcons silenced them in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter.
But Justine Baltazar took charge on the defensive end as La Salle used a 14-2 charge capped off by Evan Nelle's three with 16.3 seconds remaining to grab a 59-55 lead.
Keith Zaldivar refused to quit on Adamson, nailing the left corner three to keep it within one, but Joaqui Manuel drained both of his freebies in the last 9.4 ticks for a three-point La Salle lead.
The Soaring Falcons had one last shot to force overtime, but Baltazar was there to snuff Zaldivar's late trey to help the Green Archers come away with the nail-biter.
Deschon Winston and the Archers improve to 5-2 in third spot.
Baltazar only had six points, five boards, and four assists, but his two late rejections proved to be the difference-maker as La Salle finished the first round at 5-2.
Manuel scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in that Green Archers third quarter run while also making two treys and six rebounds.
Nelle had 12 points, three boards, two steals, and one assist, as Schonny Winston had 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
It was another heartbreaker for Adamson, with Jerom Lastimosa ending up with 15 points, seven assists, and three rebounds.
Lenda Douanga got a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Soaring Falcons stumbled to their fifth straight loss to sink to a 1-6 record.
The scores:
La Salle 61 - Manuel 14, Nelle 12, Winston 10, M. Phillips 8, Lojera 8, Baltazar 6, Galman 3, Nwanwko 0, Nonoy 0, B. Phillips 0.
Adamson 58 - Lastimosa 15, Douanga 11, Sabandal 10, Hanapi 9, Zaldivar 5, Manzano 4, Magbuhos 2, Peromingan 2, Yerro 0, Colonia 0, Calisay 0, Erolon 0, Maata 0, Jaymalin 0.
Quarterscores: 15-15; 30-26; 45-42; 61-58.
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