MANILA, Philippines – The mighty La Salle Green Archers kept true to early predictions in their first rivalry match of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, blasting underdogs Ateneo Blue Eagles, 74-61, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, September 15.
Reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao stayed a man among boys in La Salle’s rise to a 3-0 record for solo first place, tallying a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double with 7 assists and 2 steals. Frontcourt partner Michael Phillips, meanwhile, scrapped his way to 13 points and 14 boards in just 20 minutes of play.
Sweating from a 40-all tie with 34 seconds left in the second quarter off a spirited Ateneo comeback, La Salle got its bearings back at the turn of the halves with a massive 17-2 breakaway, capped with a booming Joshua David triple at the 3:42 mark of the third quarter for the 57-42 separation.
All in all, the Blue Eagles only managed 4 points for that entire period, a stark contrast to their first and second frames where they scored 18 and 22, respectively, for a 43% team shooting clip.
The cruising Archers peaked with a 20-point separation with 3:51 left to play, 72-52 off a David layup, before Ateneo set the final score with a last-gasp 9-2 run that failed to make any damage down the stretch.
“We just stayed disciplined in what we do” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.
“We made a lot of mistakes along the line, we had 22 turnovers and that’s something we have to work on. Ateneo threw a lot of freak defense on us, and good thing, we’re able to get our bearings back to get the win.”
Shawn Tuano kept up a strong start to the season with a game-high 18 points in the loss on 8-of-14 shooting, including a perfect 6-of-6 in the first half.
Joshua Lazaro, the surprise Ateneo top performer who came in to the La Salle contest averaging 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, got checked to just 6 markers and 7 boards with a team-worst -20 in the plus-minus category.
The Scores
La Salle 74 – Quiambao 13, Phillips 13, Macalalag 9, David 8, Gonzales 7, Gollena 6, Dungo 6, Abadam 6, Ramiro 2, Aguanne 2, Marasigan 2, Konov 0, Rubico 0.
Ateneo 61 – Tuano 18, Bongo 9, Bahay 8, Porter 8, Espina 6, Lazaro 6, Balogun 3, Quitevis 2, Espinosa 1, Gamber 0, Ong 0.
Quarters: 21-18, 44-40, 59-44, 74-61.
– Rappler.com
