FEU-Diliman secures postseason berth in HS Boys Basketball

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball Standings

* NUNS 11-0

* UST 9-2

* FEU-D 8-3

ADU 6-5

UE 4-7

DLSZ 4-7

x Ateneo 2-9

x UPIS 0-11

* - Final Four

x - Eliminated

Games on Thursday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre

8 a.m. - Ateneo vs NUNS (girls’)

10 a.m. - FEU-D vs ADU (boys’)

12 p.m. - Ateneo vs NUNS (boys’)

2 p.m. - DLSZ vs UE (boys’)

4 p.m. - UPIS vs UST (boys’)


DEFENDING champion Adamson University tightened its grip on the fourth spot in the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball Tournament after stifling De La Salle-Zobel, 76-66, Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

With the victory, the Baby Falcons improved to 6-5, creating a two-game cushion over the Junior Archers and the Junior Warriors. DLSZ's loss, coupled with UE’s earlier 89-70 defeat to league-leading NU-Nazareth School, gave Adamson some breathing room in the race for the Final Four.

Adamson’s win also officially eliminated Ateneo (2-9) from playoff contention after the Blue Eagles fell to UST, 82-72, in the day’s opening game.

Meanwhile, Far Eastern University-Diliman became the third team to secure a Final Four berth, joining NU and UST, after an 86-70 rout of the University of the Philippines Integrated School.

Defense was the key to Adamson’s wire-to-wire win, as the Baby Falcons set the tone early and built a 43-30 lead by halftime.

DLSZ mounted a late surge in the third quarter behind Kieffer Alas, Maco Dabao, and Kyann Gubat, trimming the deficit to just five, 67-62, with a minute remaining. However, CJ Umali and Mark Esperanza delivered in the clutch to fend off the Junior Archers’ rally.

“For the past two practices including yung video viewing, ininstill namin sa team na kailangan sa depensa kami magsimula — which is yung identity namin dapat. Good thing, they were up for the challenge,” said Baby Falcons head coach Mike Fermin.

Esperanza led Adamson with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Umali chipped in 13 points. Earl Medina also shined on both ends, contributing 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists while limiting Alas to just 6-of-20 shooting, though the DLSZ star still finished with 17 points and 12 boards.

“Challenge sa kanya yan e. Ilang beses namin ni-replay sa kanya yung tinirahan siya ni Kieffer. It will happen again if he allows it. Just challenge Kieffer. Pero hindi lang naman siya ang player ng Zobel. If we contain him then defend the others, we have a chance to win,” said Fermin.

Cabs Cabonilas, on the other hand, further solidified his MVP candidacy, powering FEU-D with a dominant 24-point, 15-rebound, five-assist, two-steal, and one-block performance as the Baby Tamaraws improved to 8-3.

Liam Salangsang added 12 points, while Mico Pascual posted a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

All 16 Tamaraws saw action in a game-changing third quarter, where FEU-D erupted for 31 points to seize control.

“Sinasabi ko lang sa mga bata, kung matibay lang ‘yung depensa namin at may disiplina, malaking contribution na ‘yon sa team. Kung maka-depensa kami nang tama, malaking bagay ‘yon,” said Baby Tamaraws head coach Denok Miranda.

Dabao paced DLSZ with 21 points, while Gubat added 10.

For also-ran UPIS, which remains winless at 0-11, U16 standouts Jhustin Hallare and Bruce Tubongbanua led the charge with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

The Scores:

Fourth game (Boys)

FEU-D 86 - Cabonilas 24, Salangsang 12, Pascual 11, Esperanza 8, Burgos 6, Cagurungan 6, Raneses 5, Hall 3, Gemao 3, Godoy 2, Santos 2, Castillejos 2, Dagcutan 2, Maierhofer 0, Gutierrez 0, De Guzman 0.

UPIS 70 - Hallare 18, Tubongbanua 17, Melicor 13, Egea 11, Gomez de Liano 11, Poquiz 0, Uvero 0, Coronel 0.

Quarterscores: 18-12, 32-33, 63-49, 86-70.

Fifth game (boys)

AdU 76 - Esperanza 19, Medina 14, Umali 13, Sajili 9, Perez 9, Jenodia 5, De Jesus 3, Tumaneng 2, Abayon 2, Caspe 0.

DLSZ 66 - Dabao 21, Alas 17, Gubat 10, Mben 8, Daja 6, Atienza 2, Lopez 2, Arejola 0, Borrero 0, Espinosa 0, Favis 0.


Quarterscores: 19-15, 43-33, 58-54, 76-66.