Who will stop slide? UST, Adamson collide

By Josiah Albelda Posted Aug 28th 2013

Whose drought will end?

Winless in the second round, University of Santo Tomas and Adamson University collide to end their respective spells in the 76th UAAP men's basketball tournament Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After a hot start, the Growling Tigers and the Soaring Falcons have seen their campaigns spiral out of control and with the tourney approaching its twilight zone, both teams are hard-pressed to win to stay afloat.

With Jeric Teng still unable to help the team, UST has lost its last three games to fall to sixth place -- an unfamiliar territory for the Season 75 runners-up. 

On the other hand, Adamson has fared worse and has fell five straight teams to crash to seventh place with a 3-7 card after a promising start. 

After injuring his hamstring in the Tigers' loss to National University, Teng is doubtful to play against the Falcons and expect coach Leo Austria to use that to his advantage.

But the question for Austria now is how will crew will respond to their loss against Ateneo de Manila University, where they clawed their way back from a 27-point deficit only to run out of time.

Adamson scored just 32 points in the first three periods before exploding for 34 markers in the final frame and if they carry that momentum into their game against UST, things would look better for the season hosts.

Meanwhile, the Tigers fell prey to an all-around attack by the Bulldogs, who overcame so-so outings from Ray Parks and Jean Mbe to rout the Espana-based five.

The game will air live on Studio 23, BALLS HD 167 and uaapsports.tv with as same day replay starting 8:30 p.m. on BALLS SkyCable channel 34/ Destiny Cable channel 36.