4 points of Wednesday UAAP action

4 points of Wednesday UAAP action

Rick Olivares (philstar.com) – November 8, 2018 at 11:48

MANILA, Philippines – Leading teams are consolidating their bid for the next round of the season while the lower-level group drops out of the race.

Here's what we think of Wednesday's games (November 7th):

It's a comeback for Adamson

The Soaring Falcons struggled in the first half, but resolved to win 20 minutes to win a massive 96-83 victory over UST to secure another Final Four.

Better still, the Falcons remained a game over DLSU and with the Green Archers match with Ateneo looming on the horizon, this gives an added advantage to their advantage twice as much. Adamson is 9-3 and DLSU is 8-4. You bet that this weekend's games are crucial.

This time, the veterans were all with Sean Manganti, Simon Camacho (what a comeback for him), Jerrick Ahanmisi, Papi Sarr and Jerie Pingoy, all of whom played remarkable roles. A win like this against a team in contention (which they've probably eliminated from the race) does wonders for their confidence.

As for Adamson, one of the concerns was to score. This bench of players scored 37 – the same as their counterparts UST. It was their starters who took off UST.

They needed that.

La Salle continues its momentum

All in all, the Green Archers played a game less tight than expected: this victory from 84 to 77 against the National University. They must like this because they receive a lot of contributions from them in the Final Four.

This is a victory for the Archers in the formation of their character as they head for the match scheduled with Ateneo this weekend. As we have already pointed out, they are slowly recovering and reaching their peak at the right time. This is a team with a lot of experience and pride in the championship (not to mention the talent and talent of the coach). You do not count them.

At 8-4, they have a huge chance to take one of these slot machines twice.

For UST, it's a game where they missed Steve Akomo

The Tigers fought in the lane, losing the battle of 53-35. They were mutilated inside, 52-14, and that says it all. UST lost 10 triples. Most of the time, it's enough to help win a win. Adamson drilled six. Now, when you take into account the points in the way, that's a lot.

That did not help that Zach Huang did not play well because he, Enrique Caunan, who works hard and is always ready to give the best of himself, and Germy Mahinay were sentenced to faults. It will be difficult to win a game when your players are on the bench.

UST has very good building blocks here. They just need to add a little more ceiling.

Now they are in the danger zone, almost all of them eliminated from the race with a 5-7 record. Even if they win their last two games that could help qualify for the last place, they also depend on how other teams finish.

Whatever happens, they must feel good about themselves. They struggled all season and at one point was in fourth place. They should be proud.

That being said, the same goes for NU.

NU must look to the future

Before winning in season 77, the Bulldogs turned to Ateneo as a model. They boasted of a striking force inside and a protector of the rim, first-rate players and stingy defenders.

They have a young team. In fact, they have aligned in the past two seasons. But because of the imbalance of the staff (veterans), they had trouble. They also have impressive building blocks for the future. They should be patient because their time will come.

I regret that they were unable to bring out the best of Matt Aquino and Troy Rike and I think it is such a mess. But as they say, it's always dark before dawn. And Jamike Jarin has already come here, after which he reversed it. Give him this chance.