Lady Falcons survive Lady Tams, gain solo third

MANILA, Philippines – Adamson University rose to solo third in the UAAP Season 82 women's basketball tournament after escaping Far Eastern University with a 61-59 win Wednesday at Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Lady Falcons picked up back-to-back wins to rise to 8-4 — one-and-a-half games ahead of the Lady Tamaraws, who lost their second straight game.

"Our game plan was very simple eh, yung defense namin kailangang i-tighten namin," said Adamson assistant coach Raymond Retaga. "Yung offense will come eh. Talagang nandiyan naman yung opensa ng team."

Mar Prado followed up her 40-point output last Sunday with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Complementing her was Lhyn Bilbao, who tallied 21 points and eight rebounds.

And the duo was pivotal in Adamson's fourth quarter rally.

Up by just three, 51-48, with exactly five minutes left, the Lady Falcons went on a 10-4 run capped by a Prado trey to gain a 61-53 cushion with 1:39 remaining.

Clare Castro and Val Mamaril tried a late-game hijack but the latter's layup with 0.5 ticks left fell short.

Adamson's defense held FEU down to just 30-percent shooting.  

After being limited to just two points in the first half, Castro scored 13 in the second half. She also hauled down 17 boards. Mamaril added 14 markers.

The scores:

ADU 61 – Prado 26, Bilbao 21, Flor 12, Dampios 2, Anticamara 0, Araja 0, Catulong 0, Mendoza 0, Ornopia 0.

FEU 59 – Castro 15, Mamaril 14, Bahuyan 7, Quiapo 7, Jumuad 5, Adriano 3, Abat 2, Antiola 2, Delos Santos 2, Vidal 2, Villanueva 0.

Quarterscores: 12-6, 31-17, 49-39, 61-59