Warriors escape Bulldogs’ Fury: Tigers, thieves upset Falcons

Games today

11 a.m. – FEU vs UP

4 p.m. – Ateneo vs La Salle

MANILA, Philippines - Host Adamson suffered big losses on and off the court yesterday.

The Falcons bowed to unbeaten Santo Tomas, 67-62, and found themselves robbed of their expensive cell phones inside their dugout at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Adamson assistant coach Kenneth Duremdes said after the game, the Falcons trooped to their dugout and were surprised to learn about the burglary.

A total of seven iPhones, which easily cost P20,000 each, were taken. The robbers knew their value because they did not bother to touch the other cell phones.

It’s not the first time burglars have struck during a basketball game, not only at the Big Dome but in other playing venues as well.

Apparently, security men in these venues are not taking their lessons well.

It was the first loss in two games for Adamson which crushed University of the Philippines, 79-62, last week at the Mall of Asia Arena.

In contrast, the Tigers posted their second straight victory to join Far Eastern U on top of the standings of the 76th UAAP season.

In the other game, Roi Sumang completed a rare four-point play with 3.7 seconds left as University of the East survived National U, 71-67, to improve to 1-1 in a tie with the Falcons.

The game was tied at 67 in the dying seconds and after the teams missed their next opportunities, Sumang found the chance to win it. He hit a triple, got fouled and sank the bonus charity.

Meanwhile, National U has decided to drop Cameroonian big man Alfred Aroga from its roster this year due to lack of residency requirements.

Aroga was still a couple of months short of meeting the two-year residency requirement for foreign players after it was found out through his passport that he arrived in the country in September 2011.

In another development, Ateneo coach Bo Perasol said Kiefer Ravena will not play in today’s game against bitter rival La Salle at the MOA Arena. The Eagles are down the standings at 0-2.

UST coach Pido Jarencio said they prepared hard for the game because Adamson is tipped as one of the favorites this year. And the Tigers delivered.

“We knew Adamson is one of the teams to beat. So, I told my players we can’t afford to lose. We need a good start in the first round,” said Jarencio in Filipino.

The Tigers started slow and trailed until the end of the first half, 26-34. But they got going in the third quarter where they went on a 14-0 run.

They stretched their run to 26-5 until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and before the Falcons knew it, the Tigers were up ahead, 55-43, and never looked back.

Kevin Ferrer had 12 of his 17 points in the second half while Jeric Teng added 15 points for the Tigers. Pacing the Falcons were Jericho Cruz and Ingrid Sewa with 15 and 13, respectively.