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fter Oda Tampus found Almond Vosotros for an open fast break lay-up off a steal at the onset of the final quarter, it looked like the DLSU Green Archers were about to blow the game out and cruise to an easy victory. DLSU was up by seven, 54-47, at that point and Vosotros made his twelfth point of the game. The Green Archers forced the AdU Soaring Falcons into 17 turnovers and they scored 23 points off of them as they controlled the tempo of the game to that point.
A blowout wasn’t mean to be as reserve forward Harry Petilos entered the game and made two straight three pointers that cut the lead to one, 54-53. Both teams then began to exchange baskets before the balance tipped in the favor of Adamson after Rodney Brondial made a reverse layup with over two minutes left to play that gave them a 60-59 lead. The critics began to chirp that the team was heading towards another meltdown, but veteran guard LA Revilla had other plans. Revilla, the only player on the roster who has played in the UAAP finals, made a booming triple with 56.6 seconds left to play that brought the crowd, composed mostly of middle-aged alumni, to their feet in jubilance as they led once again by two, 62-60.
Brondial, who played one of the best games of his career with 19 points and 23 rebounds, then made two free throws on the next possession to tie the game. Both teams then had a chance to win the contest but failed to convert. Adamson had several offensive rebounds which led to a multitude of attempts at the basket on their final possession but they fell short and the final buzzer saved the Green Archers and brought the game into overtime with the count tied at 62.
It took almost two minutes for both teams to score in the overtime period, but the Green Archers found themselves down by one point, 69-68, with 14.1 seconds remaining after the squads exchanged baskets. On their final possession, they went to their usual option of an isolation for Jeron Teng, but he was blocked off by the hulking Ingrid Sewa as he entered the paint. Teng then kicked it out to Revilla who stepped into a midrange jumper which seemed destined to go in. The shot bounced off the rim though and for a split second, it seemed like the Green Archers were heading towards their fifth loss of the season.
The ball found its way into the hands of Almond Vosotros who was blocked on his first put-back jumper but got the ball back and made the second follow-up after it bounced on the rim thrice to take back the lead for La Salle, 70-69, with 1.8 seconds remaining. Adamson was unable to get a quality shot on their last possession and the Green Archers escaped a game which had 15 deadlocks with their fourth victory of the season at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
After the win, head coach Juno Sauler said, “It’s good for the team because now the team knows that in close games, we can win it.”
Vosotros led the way for the Green Archers with 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three triples and two steals. Meanwhile, Arnold van Opstal continued his breakout season with 13 points and four rebounds, and Teng shook off a poor shooting game with nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
For Adamson, Jericho Cruz supported Brondial with 15 points and five rebounds, and Roider Cabrera finished with 11 points and three rebounds.
Free throws almost did the Green Archers in though, but in a different manner. Adamson was awarded 30 free throws during the game, compared to La Salle’s nine, but they made just 53.3 percent compared to 66.7 percent for the Green-and-White.
The Green Archers made up for the free throw disparity with excellent defense. After allowing 74 points per game from their opponents in the first round, they limited Adamson to just 69 on 36.4 percent shooting from the field. Despite the absence of guards Thomas Torres and Luigi de la de la Paz due to sickness, La Salle managed to rack up 18 assists while turning the ball over just 12 times.
It was a great effort from DLSU to kick off the second round after a lackadaisical first seven games and they moved up the standings with a 4-4 win-loss record while Adamson slid to seventh place with a 3-5 card. Up next for the Green Archers though are the league-leading FEU Tamaraws. DLSU will be seeking revenge after the Tamaraws stole an overtime win against them last month in their first encounter. The two teams will go head-to-head on Sunday, August 18, at 4 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.
The scores:
DLSU 70: Vosotros 19, van Opstal 13, Teng 9, N. Torres 8, Perkins 6, Revilla 5, Tampus 4, Salem 3, Montalbo 3, Reyes 0
AdU 69: Brondial 19, Cruz 15, Cabrera 11, Trollano 9, Petilos 6, Monteclaro 5, Sewa 2, Julkipli 1, Agustin 1, Rios 0, Ochea 0, Cabigas 0, Bernabe 0, Abrigo 0
Quarter scores: 14-16, 34-30, 52-47, 62-62, 70-69 (OT)
