fullcourtfresh.com | Adamson survives furious UP rally, seals first UAAP 78 win

Jerome Garcia scored 19 of his career-best 26 points in the first half to lead the AdU Soaring Falcons to their first win in UAAP Season 78, 73-68 against the UP Fighting Maroons earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Garcia nailed five three pointers, the last of which was a go-ahead basket that came with 2:30 left to play and gave Adamson a four point lead, 68-64.

“Kahit papano, naka-sustain kami and we ended up with the win,” shared Adamson head coach Mike Fermin after the game.

It was not an easy win for the Soaring Falcons despite leading by 19 points at halftime. The Fighting Maroons slowly clawed back, trimming Adamson’s lead to 11 at the onset of the fourth quarter and tying it up at 59 with 6:10 left to play.

During UP’s run, Fermin shared that he told his squad, “Tiwala lang sa sistema, follow the gameplan and walang bibitaw.”

UP then took a 62-61 lead with 5:42 remaining in the game after Dave Moralde hit a three–his only basket of the game–but Joseph Nalos quickly answered back with a quick basket and they would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.

Garcia, whose previous career-best in scoring was eight points, made eight out of 15 field goals and also grabbed two rebounds. Nalos added a complete line of 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Frederick Tungcab chipped in with 13 points of his own.

The Fighting Maroons were led by Paul Desiderio’s career-high 26 points, 18 of which came in the second half. He also added six rebounds and shot 11 of 22 from the field. Pio Longa and Felix Jaboneta added nine and seven points, respectively.

Diego Dario was a steady presence in UP’s backcourt, controlling the tempo and finish with six points, four rebounds, and five assists, but he committed an offensive foul with a minute left to play that doused UP’s rally.

Adamson ends the first round of UAAP Season 78 with a 1-6 win-loss slate while UP dropped its fifth straight game and now sports a 2-5 record. The second round of the UAAP Season 78 Men’s Basketball tournament begins on October 10. The schedule will be made according to the final first round standings and has yet to be released.

Here are the photos of the game by FCF’s veteran lensman Ronin Bautista: