Fearless Falcons halt Tamaraws run

MANILA, Philippines - Eric Camson hit a putback as Adamson upended Far Eastern U’s run via a 64-63 squeaker yesterday in the UAAP Season 73 seniors basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

Camson followed up Alex Nuyles’ missed stab with 2.2 seconds left to power the Falcons to their sixth win in eight games, setting the stage for the Final Four by averting a 14-game sweep for the Tams, who slipped to 7-1.

“Prior to this game, there are criticisms that we fumble in tight contests. So this is a big statement for us. Our players are slowly maturing and gaining confidence. Beating FEU is not easy - with the win, the boys are now thinking that anybody can beat anybody in this league,” said Austria.

University of the East, behind a lethal second half assault spearheaded by Paul Lee and James Martinez, tripped University of Santo Tomas, 75-65, in the first game.

Facing a 62-63 deficit with 6.8 ticks left, Adamson positioned Lester Alvarez way out of their last play, affording Nuyles to go one-on-one for a game-winning attempt. Nuyles missed, but Camson was there to tip the leather back in.

“Camson actually made a mistake in our final play by going to the right instead of going to the left facing the basket. Fortunately, he realized his mistake and went back left and luckily, he was there at the right place and right time when Nuyles missed,” said Austria.

Nuyles and Camson had 14 apiece for AdU, which snapped a woeful 16-game losing skid against FEU dating back to 2002.

“We were highly motivated because some people regard Adamson as a low-level team, we want to show them we’re not,” said Nuyles.

Adamson trailed by as many as 11 late in the third but crawled back by choking FEU to six points on a 1-of-13 field goal in the fourth.

Martinez fired 20 points, including 13 in the last 20 minutes while Lee had 16 markers, seven rebounds and eight assists as UE went 2-6.

The Tigers slipped to solo sixth at 3-5.

“After our struggle in the first round, I told the boys that every game is now a do or die for us,” said UE coach Lawrence Chongson, whose wards effectively held down the vaunted Tigers’ shooters to only 4-of-24 from three-point area.

Interestingly, Martinez hit four triples by himself already, with Lee making two and Lord Casajeros and Raphy Reyes one apiece.

Lee jumpstarted a 24-12 blast that put the Warriors up, 56-42, in the third before Martinez took over in the final canto, hitting 10 to parry the comeback bid of the Tigers.

The Warriors, though, lost big man Samuel Razon, who was suspected to suffer from an ACL injury after hurting his right knee in a rebound play in the second.

Jeric Fortuna and Carmelo Afuang combined for 27 points for the Tigers, who were also held scoreless off the fastbreak for the first time since 2006.

In women’s play, Adamson edged FEU, 62-61, to sweep the first round.

Last year’s MVP Analyn Almazan had 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals while Khaterine Mangahas shot 12 markers as the Lady Falcons went 7-0.

The Lady Tams dropped to 6-1 for No. 2.

National U beat UE, 79-67, to improve to 2-5 while the Lady Warriors suffered their seventh straight setback.