Fil-Oil: UE ends DLSU’s winning streak at 5

In what has been a good preseason tournament for the De La Salle Green Archers, even a tough 53-60 decision at the hands of the UE Red Warriors couldn’t dampen their spirits after their latest match at the Fil-Oil Flying V Premier Cup.

“It’s actually a good wake up call for us because we saw our mistakes, we saw that we cannot relax because all [the] teams are capable of giving us a good fight,” says coach Gee Abanilla after the loss. “We haven’t lost any game, even in the practice games. I told the boys that we’re bound to lose and losing happens.”

In a game that saw the Green Archers commit 28 turnovers, the Red Warriors, who committed just 15 of their own, capitalized on DLSU’s blunders and seemed to be the more composed team in the closing minutes of the game.

“UE was crashing the boards, picked up all the loose balls, the 50-50 balls,” Abanilla admits.

DLSU grabbed the lead early on, thanks to a lay-up from Jeron Teng. Despite going on a 7-0 that saw their lead stretch to as much as 11, the Green Archers’ lead was trimmed to four at the end of the first quarter.

La Salle had its first free throw attempts at the 4:54 mark of the second period, but ended up shooting just 25 percent from the stripe heading into halftime. Despite being up by three at the half, the squad from Taft couldn’t pull away, and squandered the lead heading into the final quarter.

DLSU grabbed the lead early in the fourth period only to see UE go ahead after they capitalized on the Green Archers’ turnovers. Abanilla’s squad had a chance to make a comeback after Gabby Reyes’ three pointer, which cut UE’s lead to one point with 1:12 left in the game. Timely baskets by Roi Sumang and Chris Javier though sealed the game for the upstart Red Warriors.

“I just thought we were kind of relaxed, especially during the crucial parts of the ball game,” Abanilla adds. “When they were trying to play physical, we didn’t react properly.”

Norbert Torres was the only Green Archer in double figures with 12 points, while Teng and Reyes both had eight points apiece. Jason Perkins led all players with 12 rebounds but scored just three points for the Green Archers.
The scores:

UE- Mammie 13, Sumang 12, Sumido 9, Olivarez 8, Javier 7, Noble 4, Hernandez 2, Santos 2, Alberto 2, Flores 1, Pujante 0, Guion 0, Casajeros 0, Jumao-as 0

DLSU- N. Torres 12, Teng 8, Reyes G. 8, Van Opstal 7, Torres T. 5, Dela Paz 5, Perkins 3, Bolick 3, Tampus 2, Vosotros 0, Montalbo 0, Paredes 0

Quarter scores: 20-16, 31-28, 41-41, 53-60