MANILA – Bright Akhuetie scored on a game-winner hit as University of the Philippines Maroons escaped with a 73-71 win over Adamson University Falcons in UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball semifinal round on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With the scores tied 71-all after two free throws by the Falcons’ Sean Manganti, Akhuetie made an inside hit from an inbound pass by Juan Gomez de Llano for the Maroons to surge with 2.6 seconds left.
Akhuetie, the Season 81 MVP awardee, finished the match with 6 points, 14 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks, and the Maroons forced the Falcons to a do-or-die semifinal game on Wednesday.
Juan Gomez de Llano and Paul Desiderio led with 19 points each, while Javi Gomez de Llano and Jun Manzo had 9 points each for the Maroons, which made it to the Final Four for the first time since 1997.
After a seesaw battle in the first half, the Maroons came up with a strong run in the third period behind Juan and Desiderio to surge to as high as 13 points 54-41 on a basket by Javi.
The Falcons responded with a run and managed to take the lead 63-62 on a triple by Jerrick Ahanmisi. After the Maroons tied the scores 65-all, Sean Manganti came up with 4 straight points for a 69-65 edge.
The Falcons had a chance to put the game away but Manganti misfired in his two free throw attempts. The Maroons took advantage of this, regaining the lead 71-69 on a shot by Desiderio.
Papi Sarr finished with 23 points while Manganti added 15 markers, mostly coming in the final quarter, for the Falcons, which were eyeing their first UAAP Finals stint since 1992./PN
