Victory has never been this sweet for the DLSU Green Archers. For the past few years, Ateneo has come away with not only the wins, but also the championships in the UAAP. Yet on this fateful Sunday, it seemed as if good things are finally coming the Green Archers’ way after an extended period of suffering for the faithful.
Facing a 14 point deficit halfway through the third quarter and seemingly imminent defeat, the Green Archers put the clamps on defense and relied on the sudden emergence of center Arnold van Opstal to pull off a 21 point scoring advantage after the half to come up with an inspiring 82-73 win that not only brought euphoria to the Lasallian community, but also proved that this team can be a legitimate championship contender this year.
After the victory, the soft spoken Sauler said, “Like what I’ve mentioned in the press conference and after last game, [let’s] always talk about the players. It’s not who we play, we defeat an opponent, it’s an opponent. We come out with the same mindset. It doesn’t matter who we’re facing.”
The timely shots of former De La Salle Zobel teammates Luigi de la Paz and van Opstal kept their foes at bay. Ateneo cut the lead to as low as two points twice in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough and the Green Archers showed maturity and poise as they sealed the victory.
With Jason Perkins, the star of the first two games, fouling out in the fourth quarter, van Opstal played what was perhaps the game of his life, leading the way with 18 points and 8 rebounds. The third year center attacked the basket with ferocity and made eight out of 10 free throws to provide La Salle with the post presence that has seemed elusive to them for so many years.
The last time the Green Archers beat Ateneo was in the first round of the 2010 season and the only players remaining from that team are Almond Vosotros, de la Paz and Oda Tampus–all of whom were still rookies. On this fateful day in July, Vosotros led the charge for the Green-and-White with 19 points, nine rebounds and two three point shots, while de la Paz came up with the most important shots of the fourth quarter to seal the game after missing most of last season due to injury. The guard finished with 10 points, highlighted by a three pointer that shut the door on the Blue Eagles with 1:43 left in the game.
“Luigi [de la Paz] is a real fighter, he was injured last year but after getting rehab, he was able to regain his form back. [There is] great mental toughness on the part of Luigi,” shares rookie head coach Juno Sauler on his veteran guard.
Eerily familiar
The first quarter though started out as a back and forth affair, with both teams answering each other’s baskets. Von Pessumal opened the scoring at the 9:30 mark and Thomas Torres responded immediately to tie things up at two apiece. Though the Green Archers eventually came up with a 9-4 lead, Ateneo responded with a 14-1 run capped off by a three from Newsome. Jeron Teng stopped the bleeding with 2:38 left in the first, but the Eagles came out on top at the end of the first 10 minutes, 20-16. The 2nd quarter saw the Blue Eagles pull away as Newsome scored eight of his game-high 27 points to give the Blue Eagles a 40-28 lead going into halftime. Using a 11-4 run that saw their lead go up by as much as 14, it seemed as if the Green Archers were in a familiar setting again, heading towards defeat.
The Blue Eagles stretched their lead to 14 in the third quarter before the Green Archers slowly chipped away at the lead and relied on de la Paz’s timely baskets and Van Opstal’s array of hooks and lay-ins to take the driver’s seat at the end of the third, 59-56. La Salle scored 31 points in the third canto after scoring just 16 in the entire first half and limited Ateneo to just 16 points.
Old habits die hard
The Green Archers went back to their dismal free throw shooting ways, making just 55.9%, but they made up for it with a 48-32 rebounding advantage, including a 16-5 edge on the offensive glass. Their victory was almost taken away by Ateneo swingman Chris Newsome, who scored 27 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in just his third UAAP game.
The rest of the Blue Eagles stepped up in the absence of star guard Kiefer Ravena who has been sidelined by an ankle injury. Ateneo led by as much as 14 points twice and looked to be on their way to another victory, buoyed by the 14 points of Juami Tiongson and Ryan Buenafe’s 11 points and 10 rebounds. It wasn’t enough for head coach Bo Perasol’s squad though and their inferiority inside the paint cost them the game.
Up next for the Green Archers are the undefeated FEU Tamaraws whom they will face on July 13, Saturday, at4PM at the Mall of Asia Arena. It will be a battle of two teams who are expected to compete for the top slots of this year’s Final Four.
The Scores:
DLSU (82): Vosotros 19, van Opstal 18, Teng 13, de la Paz 10, Perkins 9, T. Torres 8, N. Torres 5, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Bolick 0
ADMU (73): Newsome 27, Tiongson 14, Buenafe 11, Pessumal 10, Erram 6, Elorde 3, Golla 2, Tolentino 0, Capacio 0, Babilonia 0
Quarter Scores: 16-20, 28-40, 59-56, 82-73
