In what seemed to be another late game collapse for the Archers, DLSU leaned on prized rookie Jeron Teng as he nailed a sick corner trey after setting a pump-fake over Kiefer Ravena, 5.6 ticks left in regulation to force an overtime, 53-all.
The former Xavier School Golden Stallion hotshot nabbed a team-high of 17 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, as the injury-ridden Green Archers edged out the Ateneo Blue Eagles attack with a thrilling 62-59 overtime win to barge into the 2012 FilOil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup quarterfinals.
This win solidifies the team’s place as the third seed in bracket A with a 5-3 record; the Green Archers are set to face the Calvin Abueva-led San Sebastian College Recoletos Golden Stags in the quarterfinals on June 6 at the San Juan Arena.
Off night for Ravena and company
Ravena, smothered by the green defenders, missed two key shots in the game, including a potential game-winning layup in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter and a patented fadeaway jumper in the extra period.
He had a rough night with only 4 out of 17 baskets from the field.
Ryan Buenafe, a returnee forward for the Katipunan-based squad, ignited a 16-9 spurt in the final period to tie the game at the 2:27 mark, which led to a DLSU timeout.
With Buenafe sent to the bench, “The Phenom” suddenly went into attack mode.
He attacked the rim, snaring fouls from the Green Archers and went a perfect 4-4 in a charity stripe during the last 46.3 seconds.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Teng had not planned another loss.
Role players stepping up
Another player came to life for the Green and White when Jed Manguerra filled in the hole at the depleted shooting guard position.
Former Zobel standout Manguera played a spectacular defense against Ravena, making him work hard for his shots.
Former LSGH standout Thomas Torres also became a pest down the stretch as he frustrated former Green Archer Nico Elorde in the third period by drawing fouls.
La Salle’s bigs spectacular in paint
Second quarter was a different story though. La Salle’s big men led by Torres pounded the ball inside for easy buckets and fouls to give them an eight-point advantage in the first half.
Ateneo, without its star center Greg Slaughter, could not answer the green giants.
Norbert Torres was dominant on the boards, amassing 19 rebounds, six on the offensive end.
DLSU had the rebounding benefit, 62-45 with Yutien Andrada helping out with 11.
The Archers grabbed 21 offensive rebounds against Ateneo’s eight, leading the prior to 16 second chance points, 12 points more than Ateneo’s.
Free throws continued to haunt the Archers, which almost cost them the game.
The Archers shot poorly in the charity line, converting only 13 from the total 30 foul shots, accepting a dismal 43% percent chip.
La Salle scored four quick points to jump-start the game after consecutive buckets by Tampus and Andrada.
The Eagles called their first timeout of the game at 5:55 mark after LA Revilla cashed in a sweet finger roll to give La Salle an 8-4 lead. After the timeout, the boys from Katipunan answered with a four-point spurt, forcing the opposition to sue for time with 3:20 left.
The opening period went into the favor of La Salle, 14-10.
Absence of key cogs
Oda Tampus was out of the game after he landed on his left ankle at the 7:23 mark in the opening period. He is expected to be out for two weeks without practice.
The Abanilla-mentored team played without Arnold Van Opstal and Luigi Dela Paz, who could not play because of injuries; Mac Tallo is serving his one game suspension.
Despite the unexpected in-game injury, Archers’ mentor Abanilla was optimistic that his two-guard spot would remain productive in the games to come.
“I think [Macmac] Tallo will play already, so I think he could just step up and fill in that [shooting guard position left by Dela Paz and Tampus] void.
“We are happy because we have guys who did not give up. They were really fighting until the end and showed a lot of character,” said winning Coach Abanilla as he praised his men for their composure during the game.
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