The Adamson Baby Falcons tried again after a two-year wait, and this time, they snared the junior division crown of the 24th Fr. Martin Cup summer tournament last Saturday at the St. Placid gymnasium of the San Beda University-Manila campus in Mendiola.
They relied on the heroics of late substitute Jake Engbino to pull off a 78-76 win over the San Beda University-Taytay Red Cubs to capture the high school honors in this cagefest which is supported by Cocolife.
Joem Sabandal showed the way for the Baby Falcons, who finally who won the title after losing it to the Nazareth School-National University Bullpups in 2016.
Their pressure defense worked wonders in the final 10 minutes when the Baby Falcons finally switched game plans. They rallied from eight points down at the start of the period.
“Masarap ang feeling (on the title win). At least nakaisa kami on a major tournament na pre-season. Mabu-boost ang morale ng mga bata going into the UAAP season. Sana madala namin hanggang duon,” said Baby Falcons Mike Fermin.
The Baby Falcons reached the finals after they beat the University of Perpetual Help Junior Altas, 58-52, with Adam Doria firing 18 points in the semifinals last Thursday.
Jade Talampas knocked in 14 points for the Red Cubs in stopping the defending champion San Sebastian Staglets, 82-71, in the fight for the other semis berth.
Sabandal shot 10 points in the last 1:38, scoring thrice on turnovers to put the Baby Falcons ahead, 74-73.
As the Red Cubs tied it at 74-all off a charity from Rhayann Amsali, the Red Cubs moved ahead off Adam Doria’s triple in the remaining 55.3 seconds.
When the Red Cubs canned in two freebies in the next play off Talampas, the 5’7” Engbino who came in for big man Adrian Manlapaz in the last minute, kept the Baby Falcons on top with a split, 78-76, in the final 7.1 seconds
The Red Cubs tried to go for a final basket, but Engbino managed to block an attempt from Kyle Oliva as the buzzer sounded.
“They were expecting our pressure defense throughout the game. But we caught them off guard when we switched to it in the final minutes,” added Fermin.