Caracut leads DLSU past gritty SWU Cobras for fourth straight victory

Started with a single loss, but now they’re up by four.

That’s the current winning streak of the DLSU Green Archers as they struck down the SWU Cobras, 90-80, in their FilOil Flying V match yesterday at The Arena in San Juan.

Proving their worth

Rookie sensation Andrei Caracut led the Taft-based squad once again as he dropped 18 points to go along with three assists and three rebounds. Among his six converted baskets, three came from downtown. These shots proved to be timely as it halted any comebacks from the Cobra’s side.

Teammate and fellow rookie Joshua Torralba contributed 17 points, making all three of his attempts from beyond the three-point line, in a spirited performance.

On the other hand, former Green Archer and now SWU’s own Mark Tallo spearheaded the Cobra attack with 17 points, four rebounds, and three dimes, while teammate Boko Mupungo tallied a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Never back down

The Green Archers came out blazing in the first quarter after leading the game, 27-15. Jeron Teng scorched the SWU defense with several mid-range jumpers, firing 10 of his 14 points in the quarter alone. The boys from Taft also drained three triples in their scoring outburst.

Southwestern’s John Auditor opened the second quarter with a rainbow shot to cut the lead to single digits, 27-18. However, DLSU countered with an 8-0 onslaught to push their lead to 17 points. This time however, it was Torralba who led La Salle’s offense as he scored nine points, six of which came from the three-point area. His second triple gave the Archers the biggest lead of the game at 18 points.

It was the Cobra’s turn to turn up the heat at the beginning of the second half. They scored 29 points in the third quarter, nearly matching their entire first half output. Tallo rallied SWU with timely baskets and passes that had them trailing only by four-poinst, 55-51, in the last four minutes of the third quarter. Despite the initial barrage from SWU, DLSU survived the quarter as they held on to the lead, 67-60.

Sensing danger in the game’s closing moments, La Salle turned back to their key players to score nine straight points midway in the fourth quarter, and led by as much as 15 points, 85-70. A timeout was called,  and the Cobras went back to work by going on a 10-2 push to make it a seven-point game, 87-80, with less than two minutes remaining. However, Thomas Torres ended SWU’s hopes by drilling another three-pointer to bring the lead back to double digits, preserving the win for La Salle.

Coach Juno Sauler was all praises for Torralba in the press conference, making special mention of how the rookie opens up things for them both in offense and defense.

“Joshua Torralba brings in a lot of dimensions to the ball game. He can defend both perimeter and the post because of his size. Even if he’s quite big, he’s very quick also and he can show that at both ends of the floor. Plus, he has a good outside shot. Hopefully he becomes very consistent. So far, he’s shown consistency in terms of his three point percentage,”  he explained at the post-game interview.

However, Sauler was still disappointed with the team’s effort after being unable to put away the Cobras despite the big leads throughout the game.

“I just felt during the second half there was a lack of competitiveness during the start of the third quarter. We gave up 31 points in the first half but we gave up 29 points in the third quarter, a lot of those coming from transition and offensive rebounds, second chance points. So it’s the competitiveness and the effort to clean up on those aspects,” Coach Juno added.

La Salle continues to shoot well from three point territory in their pre-season campaign after draining 10 out of 23 during their match. Also to be noted is that, save for Daryl Pascual, all Green Archers fielded in the match were able to score. One of the team’s leading scorers this season, Prince Rivero, did not suit up for the game.

Up next for DLSU are the Mapúa Cardinals, whom they will face this Wednesday, May 27, at the Arena in San Juan.