Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 2) – The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers cruised to their second straight win in UAAP Season 84 at the expense of the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, 79-72, on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
UST guard Joshua Fontanilla – who finished with 10 points – converted the crucial shots in crunchtime as the España-based squad hiked their slate to 2-2.
Under two minutes remaining in the contest, the Growling Tigers held a one-possession lead at 72-70 after Falcons star guard Jerom Lastimosa reduced their deficit after splitting his two charities.
After the UST timeout, Fontanilla completed the inside play that stretched their lead to 74-70.
Fontanilla sealed the Tigers victory with a three-pointer from the left side in the last 18.3 seconds of the match for a 77-70 lead.
Paul Manalang also had a sensational game for the Jino Manansala-mentored UST side with 15 points and five assists.
Adamson – which dropped its record to 1-3 tied with Far Eastern University – relied on Lastimosa and center Lenda Douanga after the two standouts scored 16 points each in a losing effort.
UST will attempt to make it three wins in a row against De La Salle University on Tuesday at 10 a.m. while Adamson looks to atone for their loss against University of the Philippines at the same day at 1 p.m.
The Scores:
UST 79 – Manalang 15, Fontanilla 10, Santos 9, Cabanero 8, Concepcion 7, Herrera 6, Ando 6, Manaytay 5, Mantua 5, Yongco 3, Gomez de Liano 3, M. Pangilinan 2, Samudio 0, Canoy 0
ADAMSON 72 – Lastimosa 16, Douanga 16, Magbuhos 8, Peromingan 7, Zaldivar 6, Sabandal 5, Yerro 4, Colonia 3, Hanapi 3, Manzano 2, Maata 2, Jaymalin 0
Quarterscores: 19-16, 45-41, 64-58, 78-72
