Soaring Falcons take a gritty victory over the Red Warriors to barge back into the win column in UAAP Season 87.
The Adamson Soaring Falcons emerged victorious over the UE Red Warriors in a low-scoring defensive game, 45-37, for their first win in Round 2 of UAAP Season 87 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
The Soaring Falcons started the fourth on a 10-0 run to break away from the Red Warriors who were scoreless in the first six minutes of the quarter. Adamson outscored their foes, 12-5, in the last period.
But the Soaring Falcons found themselves in charge early buoyed by a hot start from Matt Erolon who scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. He nailed four three pointers in more than 11 minutes of play in the first two quarters.
Still, it was only in the fourth quarter that the Soaring Falcons were able to pull away with the pivotal run which was sparked by Anthony Fransman who fell one rebound short of a double-double while marking a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds.
More than offense, defense proved key for the Soaring Falcons as they limited UE to just 37 points — the first time a team scored under 40 points in a ball game since FEU scored 39 in a game against NU back in UAAP Season 82.
They also snuffed UE’s chances in the fourth where they scored just five points on two field goals in the fourth quarter. Precious Momowei was the only Red Warrior who scored in that period.
All in all, the win is all-important for Adamson who improved their record to 4-7 and continue to be in contention for the Final Four.
Meanwhile, UE, who were led by Momowei in the loss with 12 points and 17 boards, fell to 6-4 in the standings.