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Tigers squeak past resurgent Falcons

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abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/11/2009 5:22 PM

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MANILA -- The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers weathered the Adamson University (AdU) Falcons to post a scintillating 76-75 win in the opening match of the 72nd University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) at the Big Dome on Saturday.

UST ran into a maze of errors in the final minutes of the game in the absence of senior player Dylan Ababou, who was sidelined by muscle cramps. It was at this point when the Falcons came back from an 11-point deficit.

Adamson had the chance to steal the game, but rookies Roider Cabrera and Jeric Teng failed to hit their marks.

UST’s Allien Maliksi later fished a foul and split his charities to give UST a three-point buffer, 76-73, with just 14.1 ticks left.

Adamson’s Jan Colina scored on a put-back, bringing the score to 76-75 with just 2.3 seconds left.

The remaining time, however, was not enough for the Falcons even with UST's Kahsim Mirza’s free throw misses at the other end.

"Sabi nga nila (Adamson), isa sila sa mga contender pero sinabi ko naman na mag-ingat sila. Basta nariyan yung puso, pride at palaban na attitude ng mga bata, okey na kami," UST Coach Pido Jarencio said.

Mirza led all scorers with a game-high 23 points despite shooting only 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Colina's 16-point and 16-rebound effort went to waste as the Falcons failed to overcome a 13-point lead in the first half.  Alder T. Almo

The scores:

UST 76 - Mirza 23, Bautista 11, Ababou 10, Maliksi 9, Camus 8, Afuang 5, Green 4, Teng 3, Fortuna 3, Ungria 0, Mariano 0, Aytona 0.

Admason 75 - Colina 16, Canada 14, Cabrera 11, Alvarez 11, Nuyles 8, Galinato 8, Santos 5, Lozada 2, Sandoval 0, Canuday 0, Camson 0.

Quarters: 24-16, 43-41, 66-55, 76-75.

For more UAAP, visit www.uaapsports.com