‘Tentative’ Tigers slip past Falcons in ugly game

MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas escaped Adamson University, 50-49, in a hideous game marred by numerous turnovers and fouls in the  77th UAAP men's basketball tourney at the MOA Arena on Saturday.

Kevin Ferrer tied the score at 49-all with 1:57 left in the game that featured 40 turnovers and 45 fouls.

Both the Tigers and the Falcons scrambled away multiple opportunities leading to the wild finish.

Kent Lao missed two free throws with 30.7 ticks left but UST corralled the offensive rebound. The Tigers then set up a play for a midrange jumper for Karim Abdul, who missed.

But Lao got grabbed another offensive  board and UST had another chance to break the deadlock. He missed the front end of the freebie but finally knocked down the second to give UST a 50-49 edge with 1.1 ticks left.

Adamson then drew up an alley-oop scenario for Jansen Rios in their final play but came up short at the buzzer

UST coach Bong Dela Cruz rued his team's "tentative" performance.

"Hindi ko alam ano nagyari sa amin after a good game against FEU. Naging tentative ang mga bata. Kailangang mag-usap usap ulit kami," said a disappointed Dela Cruz.

"May factor yun (overconfidence) but as a veteran team, hindi na dapat ganun ang attitude ng team namin," he added.

Louie Vigil topscored for the Tigers with 11 points while Abdul added 10 for the España-based squad.

Abdul singled out their stingy defense as the key to the win as UST limited Adamson to a lowly four points in the payoff period.

"In the fourth quarter, luckily we were able to step up our defense to get back in the game," said Abdul, who despite the Tigers 2-1 start was visibly disappointed with their play.

"We are lacking focus. That's all I can really say. I think we have the potential to be a top team. I guess we just have to focus," he added.

Jessie Pedrosa scored a team-high 10 points for the Falcons, who missed the services of Celedonio Trollano due to a suspension for an unsportsmanlike like foul he committed in their game against UE.