The AdU Soaring Falcons banked on their defense and a barrage of late three-pointers to rout the UST Growling Tigers by 28 points, 85-57, last October 3 at the Philsports Arena.

UST came in riding their momentum from their win over the reigning champion DLSU Green Archers earlier this week and jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the opening minutes. However, that cushion–the biggest they would hold all afternoon–soon vanished as the Soaring Falcons responded and closed the first quarter on a 16-4 run to take a seven-point lead, 19-12.

Adamson stretched their margin to 13, 36-23, by halftime and opened the second half with an 11-0 run that saw six different Soaring Falcons score at least a point. This turned the game into a blowout as it pushed their lead to 23 points, 50-27, with 4:39 left in the third quarter. The Soaring Falcons eventually carried a 54-39 advantage into the fourth, where they pulled away for good with a 31-point outburst during the quarter.

The stifling defense of Adamson made all the difference in this win. They pressured UST into committing 20 turnovers, seven of which came directly off Adamson steals, while committing just seven turnovers of their own. Adamson also held the Growling Tigers to just 2-of-24 three-point shooting while knocking down 11-of-33 of their own, including five in the fourth quarter when they pulled away.

Monty Montebon led all scorers with 21 points, 9-of-9 free-throw shooting, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and zero turnovers in just over 23 minutes. Matt Erolon came off the bench for Adamson to score 17 points, making 4-of-10 three-point tries, and finished a game-best plus-22. Earl Medina added 11 points, three three-pointers, four rebounds, and two steals.

This UAAP season continues to be an unpredictable one and Adamson now stands at 2-1 in the standings in a three-way tie with the FEU Tamaraws and UP Fighting Maroons behind the first place ADMU Blue Eagles (3-1). With the loss, UST slides down to 2-2, tied with the NU Bulldogs.

Not many expected the Soaring Falcons to be competitive, let alone blow out an expected Final Four team such as the Growling Tigers, but this win was a warning to the rest of the UAAP–take Adamson for granted at your own peril.