October 27, 2024

UP fends off gutsy Adamson to seal Final Four spot in UAAP Season 87

UP fends off gutsy Adamson to seal Final Four spot in UAAP Season 87
Gani Stevens provided the spark off the bench for the UP Fighting Maroons in their second round win over the Adamson Soaring Falcons in UAAP Season 87 in Sunday afternoon. | Photo: The UAAP

The UP Fighting Maroons have qualified for the Final Four in UAAP Season 87 after fending off a gutsy Adamson side, 70-59, in their second round encounter at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, October 27.

After a lengthy layoff due to schedule postponements, UP still maintained its winning ways and improved its record to 8-1, with the Maroons now headed to the semis for the sixth straight season.

Despite the final score, Adamson continued to hang around until late in the fourth quarter when the Falcons got to within one, 58-57, after a Jhon Calisay triple with 3:48 minutes left in the game.

But a Mark Belmonte and-one sparked a 12-0 finishing kick for the Fighting Maroons to clip the Soaring Falcons, who came crashing to their fifth straight loss and are now at 3-7 for the year.

Quentin Millora-Brown punctuated the run with a thundering dunk to push the lead to 13, 70-57, with 52.4 ticks remaining.

JD Cagulangan played an efficient game to lead the Fighting Maroons to back-to-back wins with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also had three rebounds, one assist, and two steals.

Meanwhile, big man Gani Stevens had his best game for the Fighting Maroons with 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting night, along with four rebounds in less than 12 minutes of play.

Mathew Montebon paced Adamson in the losing effort with 14 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

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