The DLSU Green Archers continued their winning ways this preseason after blowing out the UE Red Warriors, 97-75, in their FilOil Flying V Preseason Tournament encounter yesterday at the San Juan Arena.
Holding a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the Taft-based squad stepped up their play in the next three quarters to remain undefeated in the preseason tourney. Their advantage grew with each frame, with the final score being the game’s biggest lead at 22 points.
Cameroonian big man Ben Mbala led the charge for the Green Archers, as he scored 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and swatted four shots to earn co-Player of the Game honors. The other best player was team captain Jeron Teng, who also scored 24 points. Thomas Torres and Abu Tratter completed the double-digit scorers for La Salle with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Alvin Pasaol top scored for the Recto-based squad with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Edgar Charcos added 10 points in the loss.
![IMG_0792 [] (2)](http://thelasallian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_0792-2-705x470.jpg)
The first quarter proved to be a physical contest as several hard fouls were given by players from both teams. Mbala provided the game’s biggest highlight when he completed an alley-oop pass from Torres with five minutes left in the frame. UE guard Bon Batiller capped the quarter with a fast-break lay-up to finish the quarter at 25-18 in favor of La Salle.
Midway through the second quarter, a Mark Acuno lay-up helped trim the Red Warriors deficit to four, 30-26. With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, however, the Green Archers went on a blazing 9-0 run, culminated by a Teng mid-range jump shot that caused their lead to balloon to 15, the largest in the first two quarters.
It was smooth sailing the rest of the way for the Green-and-White in the second half as their advantage never went below double-digits. After a high-scoring third quarter for both squads, La Salle was able to shackle UE with their defense in the fourth frame. The Red Warriors would only score 13 in the fourth quarter, with most of their top guns in foul trouble. Kib Montalbo’s three-pointer would bring the game to its final tally, at 97-75.
In the game’s final statistical tally, there was big disparity in free throws attempted by La Salle and UE. The Green Archers had 47 attempts, 36 of which they were able to convert for a 77 percent free throw shooting percentage. On the other hand, the Recto-based squad only had 27 free throw chances, scoring on only 16 of those attempts.
La Salle will have around two weeks to rest and recuperate before returning to the FilOil Arena to face the NCAA’s Mapua Cardinals on Thursday, May 19, at 5 pm.
