One Day Later: UP vs UE, ADMU vs ADU

UE 68 - UP 54
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Player of the Game : Biboy Enguio rode off into the sunset with his head high, as the graduating scroer top-scored in this game with 18 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Enguio was vital in helping secure win number one for UE when they played NU, scoring 19 late. This time he was the catalyst early, scoring nine in the first period.

UP Positives :

• Miggy Maniego, the 2005 UAAP Jrs. MVP, aptly finished his UAAP career by top-scoring for the Maroons with 14 points. 
• Mark Juruena played his best game of the season, scoring 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting, to go with seven rebounds. Juruena is another former UAAP Jrs. MVP, who sometimes shows flashes of his high school form but who struggles to be consistent. He'd be a nice piece for the Maroons moving forward if he could develop some more. The clock's ticking though, as it'll be his fourth year in Season 75.

UP Negatives :

• The Maroons managed just single-digit points in the second and fourth quarters, as UE continued to roll. Scoring once again was a problem, as their gunners, Mike Silungan, Mike Gamboa (another graduating player) and Jett Manuel combined for just 10 on 4 of 21 shooting. Coupled with no production from Paolo Romero and Alinko Mbah (two points combined), and it's a good thing Maniego stepped up or this would have been over much earlier. 

UE Positives :

• The Red Warriors made better work of their opponents' errors, turning UP's 25 turnovers into 22 points. While UE themselves committed 21 turnovers of their own, the Maroons could only score 12 points off of them, giving the red shirts a 10 point edge in that category. 
• Despite no big men, the Red Warriors put a nice block party, swatting nine shots in the contes,t their most this season.
• The long-term future of UE was on display in this game. Point guard Roi Sumang scored eight points, and added five rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Meanwhile, big man Chris Javier also finished with eight, but he also had seven boards.

UE Negatives :

• Unfortunately, the other two graduating Red Warriors, Paul Zamar and Lucas Tagarda, combined for just six points. It probably didn't matter though, as their team still notched the "W."

Falcons in flight - Adamson has finally ended the streak (pic source)

ADU 62 - ADMU 46
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Player of the Game : Alex Nuyles was aggressive all-throughout the game, exploding for 21 points, 8 for 8 from the foul line, and making Kirk Long look mortal. He also added seven rebounds, two assists and a steal, proving to be too much for Ateneo to handle in this game.

ADMU Positives :

• Ateneo can console themselves with the fact that they're the overall number one seed and have the twice to beat advantage. That's about it. 

ADMU Negatives :

• The Eagles couldn't hit anything today, shooting 1 of 10 from downtown, same as game one versus Adamson, 31.48 percent from the field, a season-low, and 61.11 percent from the line, also a season-low. As a result, Ateneo scored in single-digits in a quarter for the first time all year, and it happened twice, just eight points in the first, and seven in the nightmare quarter.
• For good measure, Adamson also held the Eagles to season-lows in rebounds (the only time Ateneo got less than 40 boards), assists, and blocks.
• The Eagles got what they wanted, Adamson's big men in foul trouble. But once they Rodney Brondial and Austin Manyara were slapped with their fourth fouls, the Eagles did not press their advantage, taking too many outside shots and passing the ball around fruitlessly.

ADU Positives  :

• In the pivotal 23 to 9 third quarter, Adamson shot a whopping 7 of 13 from the field, 8 for 8 from the line, and scored 15 points off eight Ateneo turnovers. Meanwhile, the Eagles were a miserable 3 of 11 and earned just a split at the line.  
• By winning this game, the Falcons retained the Final Four format and with it, twice-to-beat, an incentive they could have lost, with possible two-way and three-way ties emerging in now irrelevant cases. 
• The Falcons were a whopping 19 of 19 from the foul line, after going 11 for 11 in the first round encounter. That right there is proof of how badly they wanted to beat Ateneo.

ADU Negatives :

• Though it seemed like the Falcons were making everything they were throwing up, they actually had a pretty below-par shooting night. They were just 3 of 16 from beyond the arc, with Lester Alvarez going 1 for 8, and 17 of 41 on two-pointers. Combined with their perfect free throw night and the invisible rim covering the Ateneo basket though, it didn't really matter.

UAAP Picking Record: 40-14