MANILA – Ilonggo Gerry Abadiano drained a game-winner as National University-Manila entered the finals of 2019 NBTC National Finals with a 91-90 win over San Beda University-Manila in the semifinals on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With the score tied at 89-all, Abadiano surged the NU-Manila ahead with a midrange jumper. The SBU-Manila had a chance to force an overtime but Penny Estacio splits his free throws.
Abadiano – an Iloilo City native – finished the match with 23 points, four steals and three assists while Cyril Gonzales and Terrence Fortea each tallied 18 markers for the NU-Manila.
“Iniisip ko lang, last shot na ‘to para mag-championship na kami,” shared Abadiano. “‘Pag tinira ko ‘to, bahala na. Bahala na kung pumasok or hindi, manalo or overtime. Nung tinira ko pumasok naman siya, sobrang saya.”
NU-Manila had a strong start and even went up by as high as 26 points but the SBU-Manila rallied back behind Estacio to take an 85-84 lead. Both teams traded baskets since then with the score knotted at 89 apiece in the final 22 seconds.
“That’s what I’ve been pointing out, sinasabi kong pinakaimportante ‘yung pagiging consistent namin,” rued NU-Manila coach Goldwin Monteverde. “We were leading by 26 points pero once na matulog ka diyan, pwedeng mahabol, which is what happened.”
Rhayyan Amsali finished with double-double 26 points and 10 rebounds while Tony Ynot sparked the fightback and seized 16 markers and 7 boards for the losing SBU-Manila.
Meanwhile, De La Salle Greenhills-San Juan clinched the other finals seat after defeating Far Eastern University-Manila in the other semifinals pairing, 87-77. Joshua David had 21 points for the winning team./PN
