Disappointment filled the air as Almond Vosotros’ desperate, supposedly game-winning, three clanked off the rim as the DLSU Green Archers, playing without team captain LA Revilla, fell short in their heartbreaking 48-46 loss at the expense of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws last July 22 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Mac Tallo, chosen to start in the place of the injured Revilla, was swarmed by the Morayta defense in the dying seconds of regulation, forcing him to pass to Vosotros, who took the highly contested shot.
“It was a transition, but again it’s something he has to learn from. Ganoon talaga, rookie kasi siya. Pero I’m not blaming him, ok lang iyon,” said head coach Gee Abanilla about his rookie point guard.
In a game where the Taft-based ballers could have notched the top seed with a 3-0 record, where they failed to capitalize on the missed free throws by Arvie Bringas, and with those 12.2 ticks left in regulation, they absorbed their first loss in the UAAP Season.
The Tams took advantage of crunch time as Revilla was sidelined due to a chronic ankle injury, leaving a big void in the point guard spot. “We need his [Revilla] leadership, we need his experience. Sayang, wala siya doon sa situation na ‘yon,” explained coach Abanilla.
None of the Archers had produced double-digit outputs. The quartet of Yutien Andrada, Jovet Mendoza, Norbert Torres and Vosotros scored eight points each and pulled down a combined 28 rebounds.
After averaging 11 points in the second half in his first two games, Xavier School hotshot Jeron Teng was held scoreless in the second half. The rookie swingman had a hard time lighting up the charts, tallying in a mere six points on a poor 17 percent shooting in the game.
Cebuano floor general Tallo also played an abysmal game, with only four points all coming from the charity stripe.
On the other hand, Terrence Romeo led the Tams with 10 points and five rebounds, while former MVP R.R. Garcia struggled all game long with only six points on a rough shooting night.
Anthony Hargrove and Michael Tolomia added seven points for the Tamaraws. Tolomia stepped up in the game, hitting the crucial fadeaway jumper over Teng with 47.6 seconds left.
Midway in the third canto, Archers’ defense specialist Jed Manguera broke his nose due to an elbow from Garcia in the highly physical match. His brief absence on the court helped the Tams to execute their game plan more smoothly.
“Physicality is ok with me as long as it is not dirty,” commented coach Abanilla with Garcia’s elbow over Manguera.
It was a rough start in the early going as the Tams raced to an early 12-6 lead over DLSU. Andrada and Mendoza then ignited a quick 5-3 run to rally the team, but FEU managed to control the score, ending the opening quarter with a 15-11 lead.
The second canto featured a different story. The Archers’ frontline attacked the paint with reckless abandon, and suffocated the Morayta offense by holding them scoreless for the first four minutes.
The Green-and-White squad led by as much as six points, 25-19, after a Torres finger roll. After an FEU timeout however, the Tams ended the first half with a late quarter surge to trim the Archer lead to a 26-23 tally after Teng’s drive was called for in an offensive foul.
After the game, Abanilla praised his boys for an outstanding defensive effort and for a strong fighting spirit in facing the battled-tested Tamaraws.
“I’m very happy about the defense of the Green Archers. I think they stuck with the game plan and ok lang iyon, breaks of the game. At least I think the boys showed a lot of character. In the past, pag ganyan na bumibigay na sila. This time kahit paano lumalaban sila which is a good sign for us,” an optimistic coach Abanilla added.
Besides Revilla, Luigi dela Paz did not suit up for the Archers due to his recurring shoulder injury
A tougher challenge lies ahead, as the Archers are about to face their archrivals the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles, the defending UAAP Champions, whom they defeated last FilOil preseason in a highly-anticipated overtime thriller.
The Archers have beaten the Eagles in preseason matches in the past two years but have failed to pull a victory on a UAAP match.
Will this season mark another UAAP win for the Archers over the Eagles? The least to do is to wait for July 28, 2012 at the Mall of Asia Arena for a tough game. Both teams are currently tied at 2-1 standing in the tournament.
Quarter scores: 11-15, 23-26, 34-35,46-48
The Scores
DLSU (46): Andrada 8, Mendoza 8, N. Torres 8, Vosotros 8, Teng 6, Tallo 4, Van Opstal 2, Tampus 2, Manguera 0, T. Torres 0, Webb 0.
FEU (48): Romeo 10, Tolomia 7, Hargrove 7, Pogoy 6, Garcia 6, A. Bringas 5, Cruz 4, Belo 3, Escoto 0, M. Bringas 0, Mendoza 0.
More photos at our facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150990708779760.434706.149678604759&type=3
5 replies on “UAAP: Revilla-less Archers absorbs first loss against Tamaraws”
“Revilla-less Archers Absorbs” -… should be… “Revilla-less Archers Absorb” ….. grammar check.
Archers Absorrbs kasi cohesive yung action. Archers – having one, unified action as said in the stylebook
Hindi porket may “s” sa huli plural form na palagi
Please, wag itama ang mali gamit ng isa pang mali.
The DLSU teams (i.e. Green Archers, Green Jins, etc.,) should be taken as a singular noun, since the writers are pertaining to the team, not the individual players when they write their titles or headlines. They are also particular with the S-V agreement they use when they pertain to individual players.
I’m sorry for the confusion the team monickers might have caused you, Grammar Pulis, but you should know better if you’re really good at what you do.