MANILA – Joshua Yerro connected a game-winning alley-oop shot as Adamson University Falcons escaped with a 60-58 victory over National University Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With 0.3 seconds remaining in the game and the game tied at 58-all, Yerro scored on an inbound alley-oop pass from John Calisay to give the Falcons a two-point winning margin.
“Of course masaya kasi pumasok, thanks God din dahil sa Kanya pumasok (‘yung tira ko),” said Yerro, who finished the match with 11 points, five rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
“Before pa lang nag-timeout, sabi ng coaches na prepare lang kami kasi baka mag-extra five minutes pa, pero sabi ko kay Calisay, ‘Wala nang five minutes ito, tiwala ka lang, papasok ito,’” he added.
Matthew Montebon top-scored for the Falcons with 15 points, including three outside conversions, to go with two assists, one rebound, and one steal as the Falcons improved to a 3-2 win-loss slate.
Ian Manansala finished with 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs, while Jake Figueroa and Kenshin Padrones tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively. They dropped to a 1-4 record.
Meanwhile, defending champions De La Salle University Green Archers wasted a double-digit lead before pulling off a 68-62 victory over Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
After seeing their 13-point lead turned to a 55-56 deficit, the Green Archers went on an 8-2 scoring run behind Michael Philips, Earl Abadam, and Henry Agunnane to take a 63-58 lead.
The Tamaraws cut the deficit to 60-63 on an inside hit by Mohamed Konateh, but the Green Archers got a basket and two free throws from Philips to increase the advantage to 67-60 with over a minute remaining.
Philips finished with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Kevin Quiambao added 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals as the Green Archers improved to a 4-1 win-loss slate./PN
