JERRICK Ahanmisi provided the finishing touches to a grand UAAP opening weekend highlighted by appearances by actor James Reid, K-Pop star Minzy and NBA champion and MVP Steph Curry.
From highlight plays to clutch buckets, Ahanmisi had it all as he led the Soaring Falcons to a 74-70 victory over defending champion Ateneo, earning the nod as the season's first Chooks-to-Go/UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week.
The Filipino-Nigerian edged out UP’s Juan Gomez de Liaño, National U's Dave Ildefonso, and FEU’s Arvin Tolentino for the weekly plum handed by scribes from print and online covering the beat.
Without a doubt, Adamson wouldn’t have pulled off the upset if not for the efforts of Ahanmisi who put up 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting while grabbing four rebounds.
The third-year swingman's offensive production was the highest for the opening weekend and included a mesmerizing buzzer-beating halfcourt shot that gave Adamson a 40-39 lead heading into the halftime break.
His highlights, however, weren’t just for the early parts of the game as he had his hand in Adamson’s crunch time sets.
With the game tied, Ahanmisi was given the isolation play off of head coach Franz Pumaren’s timeout and delivered with a clutch layup that gave his team a 70-68 lead with 1:09 left to play.
Not long after, they finished the job in their first conquest of the Blue Eagles since 2016.
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