Jarl Artango and Chrys Gomez came through in the clutch as Adamson stunned erstwhile unbeaten Ateneo, 77-73, to notch its third win in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Thursday morning at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
Gomez made a timely midrange jumper that pushed the Baby Falcons’ lead to 76-70 with 2:09 remaining before Artango sealed the upset win with a free throw in the dying seconds.
Meanwhile, Cabs Cabonilas put on a dominant display, tallying 21 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks as Far Eastern University-Diliman cruised to its fourth straight win with a 79-61 dismantling of La Salle Zobel.
The contrasting victories leave FEU-D sharing first place with Ateneo, both holding 5-1 records, while Adamson returned to the win column emphatically, improving to 3-3 in their penultimate first-round outing.
Ateneo had clawed back from a 53-39 deficit to trail 61-58 heading into the fourth quarter. But the Baby Falcons opened the payoff period with a decisive 10-4 run — capped by a floater and two free throws from Artango — to restore a 71-62 lead with 6:13 left.
The Blue Eagles stayed within striking distance, as Jude Eriobu’s free throw, a Jay-M Leal layup, and a Noah Banal triple cut the gap to 76-73 with 2:12 left. Adamson, however, leaned on its defensive identity in the endgame to deny Ateneo any further comeback.
Artango finished with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Gomez contributed 13 points, five steals, two rebounds, and one assist. Bautista added 10 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and one steal, with Mac Jenodia and Fran Flores chipping in eight points each in the hard-fought victory.
In the earlier game, De La Salle Zobel had erased an early 27-10 deficit to trail 41-33 at halftime, but FEU-D responded with a dominant third quarter. JB Cagurungan opened the second half with eight straight points before Cabonilas, Marc Burgos, and Khean Esperanza led a 22-4 run to stretch the Baby Tamaraws’ lead to 63-37.
