At first it appeared that the championship was headed to Taft Avenue, but the National University Bulldogs had other plans.
The DLSU Green Archers Developmental Team dropped a 71-59 decision to the National University Bulldogs (NU) Team-B in the championship game of the Father Martin Cup (FMC) held, Oct. 24 at the San Beda Gym in Mendiola.
The loss relegated the Archers as second placers in the tournament, which was joined in by other colleges and universities in Metro Manila.
In a game that was grueling both physically and mentally, the so-called Team-D Archers, whose roster boasts of some UAAP-bound Archers, started on a roll but squandered it to the Sampaloc-based Bulldogs, whose own line-up features the heady Rayray Parks, the son of former seven-time Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Best Import Bobby Parks.
The La Salle squad started off with a 15-5 blast and continued to dissect their opponents with their effectively run high-octane offense. The charge was led by the steady playmaking of guard L.A. Revilla who skillfully directed the offense and guard Jed Manguera, who paced the Archers with 19 points in that game, including much-needed baskets down the stretch.
The solid pivot play of slot man Norbert Torres proved to be of big help to the Archers as he banged in 18 points, while forward JR Gallarza and center Brian Organ also played well by showing toughness on defense, as both were able to hold their own against the National U frontline.
As the game wore on the Archers suffered dearth in scoring, which allowed the Bulldogs to pull the rug from under the Green-and-White squad behind the accurate sniping of former UST Tiger Cubs Cedric Labing-isa and Kyle Neypes, who bore the cudgels for the Bulldogs.
Parks, who has been turning heads in the tournament because of his strong play, was a marked man as he struggled for 14 points, the bulk of which he earned from the free-throw line.
The Archers, who played minus former San Beda Red Cub Dan Sara, who is recovering from an operation due to a fractured nose, displayed poor free-throw shooting for the game.
This may be because they used a very short rotation during that game, to which the Bulldogs were able to capitalize in the second half.
