Fresh off a heartbreaking overtime defeat at the hands of the FEU Tamaraws, the DLSU Green Archers will strive to place that loss behind them as they go head-to-head with the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Premiere Cup champions, the UE Red Warriors, on July 20 at 2:00 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.
Encompassing a 2-2 win-loss record, the Green Archers are gunning for a victory to forge a tie with the NU Bulldogs at 3-2 in the third spot behind the UST Growling Tigers (3-1) and Far Eastern University, which leads the standings with an unblemished 5-0 slate.
On the other hand, inspired by their convincing 72-68 victory against the six-peat-seeking ADMU Blue Eagles are the Red Warriors who look to extend their winning streak to two games.
In both of their first and second round meetings in UAAP Season 75, La Salle swept the Recto-based squad, 73-52 and 67-59 respectively. As early as now, this is already a must-win game for both UE and DLSU as they jockey for position in the top four against this year’s competitive field.
Key match-ups
The match-up between Jeron Teng and Roi Sumang will be the one to be watched, and the performance of these two go-to-guys may well dictate the result of the game. In addition to that marquee match-up, the battle underneath the basket and the hustle plays will be a huge key to victory. La Salle, which has a size advantage over the squad from Recto, leads the league in rebounding, with 50.8 per game, while the University of the East norms 47 rebounds per game.
The triumvirate of veterans Norbert Torres and Arnold van Opstal, and newbie Jason Perkins will go head-to-head with UE’s 6’7 center Charles Mammie, who recently exploded for 20 points and 23 rebounds against Ateneo. The Green-and-White trio have combined for 30.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game, while their Sierra Leonean rival averages 12.8 points and 17.3 rebounds thus far in the season.
Bouncing back
“My failures are my motivation,” said Teng on his Twitter account after the loss against FEU in relation to the late-game errors that he committed. The reigning Rookie of the Year later posted, “We lost as a team, we will bounce back again as a team!” The sophomore averages 17.0 points per game and shoots 41.3 percent from the field to lead the Green Archers, however, the ace forward barely averages 26.1 percent from the free throw line, a glaring weakness that opponents have been exploiting.
An improvement from Teng from the free throw line will be welcome for La Salle, but it will take a team effort to top the Red Warriors for their third win of the season. Expect head coach Juno Sauler’s squad to bounce back from their heartbreaking loss against FEU in grand fashion against the Red Warriors in a game that promises to be a fast-paced thriller.
