Matthew Montebon of Adamson University against Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament. UAAP Media.
MANILA (UPDATED) — Matthew Montebon and Mat Edding stepped up as Adamson University crawled back from a 13-point deficit against Far Eastern University for a 56-53 win to open UAAP Season 89 men's basketball on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Montebon fired 18 points on four triples, while Edding stabilized the floor with 10 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two blocks as the Soaring Falcons' defense held on to force Kirby Mongcopa to miss his game-tying attempt in the endgame.
"It's a tough battle every time we play FEU, and at some point, we were kinda lost," said Adamson head coach Nash Racela, as they trailed 46-33 in the third. "It just so happened that our players were able to gather and group themselves together."
After Matt Erolon and Montebon provided a spark for Adamson in the third canto, the Falcons opened the final frame with 11 straight points to take a 48-46 lead after an Edding basket with 6:01 left in the game.
Cabonilas then displayed flashes of his form, with the UAAP Season 88 high school MVP scoring seven of his total points in the fourth, but these were not enough to counter Edding and Erolon's closing surge.
Erolon and new Adamson foreign student-athlete (FSA) Precious Jonah both contributed eight points for their squad, while Manu Anabo and Ray Allen Torres each listed five.
On the other hand, Cabonilas was tied with Janrey Pasaol for a team-high 11 points, and the 6-foot-5 rookie also hauled in 12 rebounds and had one steal.
Pasaol added five assists but committed five of FEU's 21 costly turnovers, while Jorick Bautista caught fire early with nine points but went scoreless in the last three frames.
The Scores:
Adamson 56 — Montebon 18, Edding 10, Erolon 8, Jonah 8, Anabo 5, Torres 5, Barcelona 2, Fransman 0, Medina 0, Tumaneng 0, Cruz-Dumont 0, Pacquiao 0, Perez 0.
FEU 53 — Pasaol 11, Cabonillas 11, Bautista 9, Gish 5, Konateh 5, Mongcopa 4, Felipe 4, Burgos 2, Montemayor 2, Daa 0, Nakai 0.
Quarterscores: 11-16, 28-36, 37-46, 56-53.