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UAAP: Ateneo boosts Final 4 bid with escape act over Adamson

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ateneo center Joseph Obasa goes for a layup against Adamson in their UAAP Season 86 second round game on November 12, 2023 at the Araneta Coliseum. UAAP Media." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/11/12/11122023-uaap-86-basketball-ateneo-vs-adu-joseph-obasa.jpg"/><figcaption>Ateneo center Joseph Obasa goes for a layup against Adamson in their UAAP Season 86 second round game on November 12, 2023 at the Araneta Coliseum. UAAP Media.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATED) -- Ateneo de Manila University improved its chances of qualifying to the Final 4 after a difficult 62-58 victory over the Adamson Soaring Falcons, Sunday afternoon at the Araneta Coliseum.The Blue Eagles recovered from a brutal third quarter wherein they scored just four points, generating enough offense in the final period while also keeping the Soaring Falcons in check. With the win, the defending champions improved to 6-6 in the UAAP Season 86 men&#x27;s basketball tournament. They are now in solo fourth, while dropping Adamson to fifth with a 5-7 win-loss record. The Blue Eagles also got a measure of revenge for their painful 74-71 overtime loss to the Soaring Falcons in the first round. Sean Quitevis led Ateneo with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Joseph Obasa and Kai Ballungay each contributed 10 points in the low-scoring affair that saw Ateneo shoot just 36.5% from the field. Adamson converted just 32.3% of their attempts.&quot;It was tough as it gets and we expected that,&quot; said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. &quot;That&#x27;s the Adamson team, that&#x27;s the Adamson coaching staff, they just grind you down and they&#x27;re doing it to everybody. It was never easy against them.&quot;&quot;To us, it was really important to stick to our defensive principles this game,&quot; said Quitevis, for his part.The Soaring Falcons snatched the momentum thanks to a superb defensive effort in the third quarter where they forced Ateneo into nine turnovers and caused them to make just one of eight field goals. They out-scored Ateneo 20-4 in the period, heading into the final quarter with a 49-42 lead.But Ateneo returned the favor in the fourth period. After Adamson took a 55-52 advantage with 5:39 to go, the Blue Eagles scored seven unanswered points for a 59-55 advantage. They kept the Soaring Falcons scoreless for over four minutes. A Matt Erolon triple finally ended the silence for Adamson and brought them within one point, 59-58, with 1:23 to play. But the Falcons blew several chances to push ahead anew, with Vince Magbuhos airballing a triple and Cedrick Manzano getting blocked inside the paint by Joseph Obasa. A missed jumper by Didat Hanapi with 4.1 seconds left forced Adamson to send Quitevis to the line, where he made the first and missed the second. Obasa was there for the offensive rebound, and upon being fouled by Manzano, the big man made both charities to ice the game for the Blue Eagles.Matthew Montebon scored 13 points for Adamson, but no other player reached double-digits for the Falcons. Both teams missed one of their point guards due to different injuries. Joem Sabandal, who has averages of 6.91 points, 3.09 rebounds, and 2.55 assists, did not play for Adamson due to a hamstring injury while Ateneo did not have Gab Gomez due to a left wrist injury.Ateneo will go for at least a playoff for a post-season berth against University of the East on Wednesday at the SMall of Asia Arena at 11 a.m. Adamson will fight for survival against co-league-leader National University at 6 p.m also on Wednesday.

Ateneo pulled off a hard-earned 62-58 victory over Adamson to fuel its bid for a Final 4 spot in the UAAP Season 86 men's basketball tournament, Sunday.