A sense of hope spread through the sea of green shirts after Jed Manguera’s trifecta shot swished through the rim. Unfortunately, that was to be their last hurrah.
After a heart-breaking loss following the one against the FEU Tamaraws, the DLSU Green Archers suffered yet another setback as they stumbled in their 71-61 defeat against the Ateneo Blue Eagles last July 28 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay city.
Following an Ateneo timeout within the last two minutes of regulation, the Archers’ defense succumbed as the Eagles ignited a 6-1 run to end the game, after Rookie Archer Jeron Teng failed to inbound the ball which led to a costly five-second violation.
“A very heart-breaking loss, I think we were there the last two minutes and twenty seconds of the ball game. We were down by four, and we fouled [Nico] Salva in the last two minutes twenty seconds. We couldn’t execute, we committed turnovers, and we were making mistakes in end-games,” explained Head Coach Gee Abanilla after the ballgame.
Hobbled team captain L.A. Revilla tallied in 16 points and dished out 7 dimes, while Teng added 13 points and 8 boards.
6-foot-6 Norbert Torres wasn’t his usual double-double as he contributed 11 points along with five boards, while marksman Luigi Dela Paz added seven markers despite being constantly pressured by Norman Black’s defensive tactics.
“Maganda naman yung pinakita ng mga bata, hindi sila bumigay,” coach Abanilla explained.
On the other hand, Greg Slaughter cashed in 20 points to go along with his seven rebounds, while Kiefer Ravena and Nico Salva scored 16 points apiece and pulled down a combined 11 rebounds.
The Eagles cruised to a hot start by showcasing their trademark transition offense, coupled with timely second chance points.
Ravena’s breakaway layup uncorked a 15-5 scoring run, burying the Taft-based squad with a 17-7 edge. The boys from Katipunan ended the quarter with a high note: a 20-8 advantage.
However, the Green and White turned the tables around as they kept their arrows within striking distance, at least in the second canto.
Revilla and Dela Paz led the second quarter charge with a combined 14 points. The Archers trimmed the Ateneo lead by as much 32-26 after an Arnold Van Opstal bucket, but Ateneo ended strong after Slaughter beat the buzzer with his tip-in for a 35-26 slate in favor for the Blue shirts.
La Salle struggled to continue the momentum of such scoring on the third canto.
The score was finally knotted at 42 after Jeron Teng drilled in a triple over Ryan Buenafe four minutes into the quarter.
Dela Paz finally gave them the lead after sinking the bonus charity to put his team up 45-44, but the Eagles answered back with key baskets as they ended the third quarter with a 53-50 lead.
Coach Abanilla later pointed out that team’s lack of maturity affected their play in pressure end-game situations.
“Work in progress kami. I like the way that we came back, maganda naman yung pinakita ng mga bata, hindi sila bumigay. Kung may maturity kami, kaya lang wala pa eh at kulang pa rin. So sa aming mga coaches we have to work on it,” he added.
A key highlight in this was the Archers’ success at the free throw line, shooting an impressive 75 percent in connecting 15 out of their 20 attempts.
“Slowly they are learning it, kaya lang siyempre wala tayong time period para matuto agad. So I think our learning grows, makuha namin agad as soon as possible,” he quipped.
With this loss, the Archers are currently tied with the National University Bulldogs, with a 2-2 win-loss record for fourth place in the standings.
Up next for Coach Gee and company will be the University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers this coming August 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Quarter scores: 8-20, 26-35, 50-53, 61-71.
The scores
DLSU (61) Revilla 16, Teng-13, N. Torres 11, Dela Paz 7, Manguera 6, Van Opstal 2, Andrada 2, Webb 2, Mendoza 1, Tampus 1, Paredes 0, Vosotros 0, T. Torres 0, Gotladera 0, Tallo 0.
ADMU (71) Slaughter 20, Salva 16, Ravena 16, Chua 6, Tiongson 4, Elorde 3,
Buenafe 3, Pessumal 2, Erram 1, Sumalinog 0, Gonzaga 0
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