Fresh off his stint in the FIBA Afrobasket, Ben Mbala immediately made a huge impact for the defending champions as the DLSU Green Archers secured their third win in as many games at the expense of the AdU Soaring Falcons, 85-73, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Mbala led the way for the Green Archers as he scored 32 points, a personal UAAP best, along with 10 rebounds and four blocks. On the other side, Robbie Manalang led the Falcons after garnering a total of 16 points and two rebounds.
La Salle dominates
DLSU started out strong, capitalizing on the Falcons’ turnovers as Mbala and Andrei Caracut each converted a three-pointer in the first two minutes of the game. The Green Archers continued to stay aggressive, going on a 17-0 run, and not letting AdU score for almost four minutes, as they continued to stay relentless on both offense and defense.
Meanwhile, with baskets from just Manalang and Tyrus Hill, AdU could not find momentum as it continued to fail on its layups and midrange jumpers. The Falcons were struggling for points and did not do itself any favors as they continued to commit turnovers and fouls. When combined with the impressive offensive performance of DLSU, Adamson saw itself 24 points behind the Green Archers at the end of the first quarter, 36-12.
Before starting the second quarter, Coach Aldin Ayo told the team to continue asserting their dominance despite the huge lead since he knew that AdU still had the capability to come back. Mbala once again led the team from Taft as he garnered a total of 21 points, six rebounds, and two blocks just in the first half. However, both teams were struggling in the quarter with consistent turnovers committed on both ends of the court. It was only after Jerrick Ahanmisi and Jerie Pingoy went on a 4-0 run with only four minutes of the second quarter left that the Falcons started to heat up.
Despite scoring a total of 21 points in the second quarter, the Falcons did not ever hold a lead in the first half. Nevertheless, Kristian Bernardo was able to force three of Mbala’s nine turnovers that paved way for AdU scoring two more points than DLSU in the second quarter. La Salle, though, maintained its lead over the Falcons, 55-33, coming into half-time.
Holding on
The Soaring Falcons began their furious rally in the third quarter by knocking down five straight free throws and a put-back by Bernardo to cut the Green Archers’ lead to 17 points, 58-41. Prince Rivero was able to push the lead back to 20 points, 63-43, after he converted a lay-up but it wasn’t enough to stop the Soaring Falcons’ momentum. AdU continued to cut the deficit as they were able to force the defending champions to commit five turnovers courtesy of their own version of a full-court trap. With this, the Soaring Falcons unleashed a furious 13-5 run, highlighted by a brilliant ball-fake that gave Jerie Pingoy an open lane for a layup, in the last four minutes of the third quarter. At the end of the quarter, DLSU led by just nine, 70-61.
Papi Sarr opened the final quarter with a hook shot but reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player Mbala quickly answered back with a three-point play to bring the lead back to double digits. Manalang, however, immediately drilled a three-pointer to cut the Lasallians’ lead back to seven at the 9:03 mark of the quarter. Both teams went scoreless until Mbala produced an emphatic dunk after spinning away from his defender at the 7:10 point of the period. A three-pointer by Ahanmisi at the left corner cut DLSU’s lead down to eight but Ricci Rivero’s reverse lay-up put the game out of reach as the Green Archers led the Soaring Falcons by 10 with over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Strong defense and free throws by Santi Santillan sealed the game for the Green-and-White.
With Mbala back on the team, La Salle scored 44 points in the paint while grabbing 45 rebounds as a team. The Green Archers’ bench also contributed in scoring as they scored 30 points. The team did commit 26 turnovers, though, which helped their opponents crawl back in the game.
La Salle will aim to win its fourth straight game as they face the UP Fighting Maroons on Saturday, 4 PM, at the same venue.
The scores:
DLSU 85 – Mbala 32, Santillian 10, Tratter 9, Rivero P. 8, Rivero R. 6, Montalbo 5, Caracut 5, Go 3, Baltazar 3, Melecio 2, Gonzales 2
AdU 73 – Manalang 16, Sarr 12, Ahanmisi 10, Pingoy 9, Manganti 8, Bernardo 8, Hill 6, Ochea 3, Lojera 1, Espeleta 0, Camacho 0, Mustre 0, Zaldivar 0
Quarterscores:
36-12, 55-33, 70-61, 85-73
