Adamson University notched back-to-back wins in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Basketball Tournament, dismantling Far Eastern University in wire-to-wire fashion, 71-50, on Wednesday at Adamson Gym in San Marcelino, Manila.
Besides achieving their first winning streak for the young season to climb to 2-4 in the standings and tie the Lady Tamaraws in the rankings at fifth to sixth, the Lady Falcons also scored their breakthrough win on their homefloor.
“Before the season, sana yung homecourt advantage makuha namin. Kaso yung last two games namin dito, talo kami,” recalled first-year Lady Falcons head coach Ryan Monteclaro as he and his team fell to University of Santo Tomas, 84-65, last October 4 and to De La Salle, 63-55, on October 11.
“First win namin, sa MOA pa. Sabi ko nga, break the curse. Playing in front of Adamson gave us a lot of energy,” continued the former Falcon as they notched their breakthrough win last Sunday against UE, 71-41.
It was another dominant win for Adamson, racing to a 21-6 start and never looking back.
The Lady Falcons never faltered in the 40-minute affair, gaining a lead that reached a peak of 28 points multiple times in the final frame.
“We just followed our coaches’ intructions. It was important for us to set the tone,” said Adamson’s sophomore guard Francine Meniano, who led the way with 15 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
Victoria Adeshina, Adamson’s Nigerian center who was part of the Mythical Team a year ago, tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, a steal, and a block as well.
Kim LImbago and Cheska Apag contribued nine points apiece with the former also recording seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Tough will be Adamson’s next assignment as it hosts reigning seven-time champion National U on Saturday.
“We take it one game at a time. Para sa amin, yung progress is more important for us. I think malaki na yung improvement namin compared to our first three games. We’ll take the game against NU as another opportunity for us,” said Monteclaro.
Josee Kaputu was the sole brightspot for the Lady Tamaraws, who have lost their third straight game, finishing with a 20-20 double-double with 24 points and 21 rebounds.
Honey Caringal, who played nine minutes in the contest, was assessed a disqualifying foul minutes before the game ended for entering the court.
FEU will look to snap out of its skid also on Saturday when it takes on UST.
The Scores:
ADU 71 – Meniano 14, Adeshina 10, Limbago 9, Apag 9, Etang 6, Bajo 6, Dampios 6, Alaba 3, Mazo 3, Calvert 3, Dumelod 2, Agojo 0, Cortez 0, Tano 0.
FEU 50 – Kaputu 24, Aquino 9, Manguiat 5, Delos Santos 4, Salvani 3, Ong 2, Del Prado 2, Caringal 1, Pasilang 0, Lopez 0, Dela Torre 0, Antonio 0, Nagma 0.
Quarterscores: 21-6, 41-22, 60-38, 71-50.
Games Saturday (Adamson Gym)
9 a.m. – FEU vs UST
11 a.m. – DLSU vs UE
1 p.m. – NU vs ADU
3 p.m. – Ateneo vs UP