Ateneo, Adamson forge title duel
Games Thursday (Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
12 noon — UST vs San Sebastian (Jrs)
2 p.m. — Univ. of Cebu vs La Salle (3rd Place)
4 p.m. — Ateneo vs Adamson (Finals Game 1)
MANILA, Philippines — Despite the intimidating presence of University of Cebu’s slotman Junemar Fajardo, UAAP champion Ateneo still managed to get the job done in style.
Banking on a hot start, the Eagles repulsed the repeated comebacks of Fajardo and company to hack out a 74-54 win and advance to the Finals of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League for the fourth straight time on Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan.
The 6-foot-9 Fajardo, who wears a size 17 shoes, displayed impressive post moves and solid footwork rare for a Filipino big man to register 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting aside from grabbing 15 rebounds.
But all his efforts went down the drain as the Eagles rotated the ball pretty well that led them to score in transition for a runaway win.
Adamson, however, prevented an Ateneo-La Salle title showdown as the Falcons surprised the Archers, 67-59, in the second game.
Alex Nuyles and Eric Camson starred for Adamson’s victory by scoring 15 and 12 points, respectively.
The Falcons fell behind, 18-8, in the first quarter but rebounded in the second quarter to tie the count at 30-all before outscoring them in the last three minutes of the third quarter to take the initiative.
“We really don’t want to have one player dominate you but we realized that most of their offense go to Fajardo. That was really the gameplan, he had his 30 points but that was fine as long as we win,” said coach Norman Black.
“I think he should have been playing for the national team but I would say he is definitely a PBA-material,” added Black.
The scores:
First Game
ATENEO 74 — Monfort 15, Chua 12, Salamat 10, Salva 10, Gonzaga 8, Tiongson 6, Golla 5, Austria 4, Escueta 2, Long 2, Balmaceda 0, Erram 0, dela Cruz 0.
UNIV. OF CEBU 54 — Fajardo 30, Pao 8, Juliane 5, Mohammad 5, Cueva 3, Bercede 3, Heruela 0, Cabrera 0, Tan 0, Enriquez 0, Ampoon 0, Magallanes 0, delos Santos 0, Batua 0.
Quarters: 23-16; 36-29; 50-43; 74-54.
Second Game
ADAMSON 67 — Nuyles 15, Camson 12, Alvarez 11, Cabrera 8, Brondial 7, Colina 6, Manyara 3, Canada 3, Stinnett 2, Lozada 0.
LA SALLE 59 — Marata 14, Andrada 9, Tampus 8, Atkins 7, Paredes 6, Vosotros 5, Elorde 4, Villanueva 4, Reyes 2, Ferdinand 0.
Quarters: 8-18; 30-30; 49-45; 67-59.
