The DLSU Green Archers remains unblemished in the FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup with their win against the San Sebastian Stags today, April 26. La Salle won the high scoring encounter by 17 points, with a final score of 90-74, at the Arena in San Juan.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the DLSU Green Archers comfortably led NCAA powerhouse San Sebastian by 17 points after continuously attacking the paint and hustling up and down the court for easy points.
San Sebastian would not quit though, and started gaining momentum for a late comeback just as the youthful Green Archers looked like they were in trouble.
In previous years, La Salle would have folded up and would have let the game slip away, but the sophomore tandem of Jeron Teng and Thomas Torres kept the Stags at bay.
The squad from Taft went on to win their second straight blowout, maintaining its firm grasp on the top spot of Group B with a spotless 3-0 record.
Teng led the Green Archers with 17 points while Gabby Reyes continued to be a revelation for the squad with 13 markers of his own. Heralded rookie Kib Montalbo from Bacolod finished with nine points of his own, his highest output since joining La Salle.
The game was a close encounter early on though as neither team was able to pull away. After the first period, the Green Archers found themselves ahead of the Stags by just one point, with a score of 20-19.
Despite an ankle injury that forced gunner Almond Vosotros to leave the game a minute into the second canto, La Salle began to pull away and erected a 13 point lead by halftime. The Green and White led, 52-39, behind the play of center Arnold van Opstal, who scored 11 points for the game, highlighted by a thunderous dunk midway through the quarter.
The onslaught continued in the second half as the Green Archers went on pulling away. Energetic rookie Robert Bolick’s lay-up to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter then put La Salle up by 15 points going into the final period. Coach Gee Abanilla’s squad showed how potent their offensive arsenal can be, posting 70 points through the first 30 minutes of the game.
A key factor for the Green Archers was their free throw shooting as they uncharacteristically hit 80 percent of their charities for the afternoon.
La Salle will now take a two week break before its next game on May 10 against Lyceum of the Philippines University. It will be held once again at the Arena in San Juan at 2:30 pm.
