It's a winning start for the Adamson Soaring Falcons in UAAP Season 87, but at the expense of PBA legend and now FEU head coach Sean Chambers.
The Adamson Soaring Falcons used a second-half surge to turn the tides against the FEU Tamaraws, 59-47, in their opening game of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, September 8.
The San Marcelino-based squad survived a low-scoring affair to start, but they outscored the Tamaraws 38-22 in the second half to seize the win.
Despite struggling early on, even falling behind by double digits in the early goings, Fil-Aussie Royce Mantua provided steady offense to keep Adamson afloat.
But things started to work for the Falcons after the halftime break, with Monty Montebon and Matt Erolon getting into rhythm as well.
All in all, it was a 29-point swing for the Soaring Falcons as they led by as many as 18 points before settling with a 12-point victory.
Erolon had a personal 7-0 run to cap off nine unanswered points for the Soaring Falcons late, giving Adamson its largest advantage at 55-37.
Adamson head coach Nash Racela said that he wasn’t perturbed by the slow start, especially since they had been facing struggles heading into the opening game.
Still, he was relieved that his players were able to pull it off for the optimistic start to the season.
"[I’m] not really surprised that they struggled today because going to the UAAP opening, [for the] last couple of weeks we're struggling as a group and it showed… Especially in the first half where the team didn't really settle down.” said Racela.
“From my [view] as a coach, I didn't really know what to expect. Even these two guys (Mantua, Erolon) that performed today, I didn't really know… Di ko alam what I was gonna get from them. But, yeah, it's good that they delivered today because we really [needed] every contribution that they could give us, not just them, but of course the rest of the team." he continued.
Three different Falcons breached double digits in scoring with Mantua leading the pack with his 14 points built off of 4-of-6 shooting. He also had four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
Montebon and Erolon added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Adamson foreign student-athlete Mudiaga Ojarikre came out with a defensive masterclass as he swatted away four shots from the Tamaraws. He also had six points and nine rebounds.
Jorick Bautista led the losing effort for FEU with 14 points, seven boards, two assists, and a steal.
Adamson faces an acid test next when it faces defending champions DLSU Green Archers on Wednesday, September 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
FEU, meanwhile, plays on Saturday, September 14, at the same venue against the NU Bulldogs.