“There’s no sense of accomplishment yet for me,” shares Juno Sauler, the rookie head coach of the DLSU Green Archers.
La Salle had just won its seventh straight game with a 69-64 conquest of the UST Growling Tigers to finish the eliminations with a 10-4 record. The team that took the floor today for DLSU was completely different from the outfit that dropped an overtime loss to UST to kick off this season.
Armed with maturity down the stretch, the Green Archers managed to douse UST’s late rally to force a playoff for the second seed in the Final Four with the FEU Tamaraws. Meanwhile, the Growling Tigers have one last elimination round game against the ADMU Blue Eagles wherein both teams will need a win to qualify for the Final Four.
Jeron Teng churned out 19 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, but his most impressive statistic came from the free throw line. The sophomore made six out of seven shots from the free throw line to continue his recent trend of stellar shooting during the second round.
With four minutes and 51 seconds left in the game, Karim Abdul scored in the paint to cut the lead of La Salle to two points, 59-57, but the Growling Tigers would not pull any closer.
Timely shots from Teng, Norbert Torres and LA Revilla helped preserve the victory for the Green Archers. La Salle has managed to win close games down the stretch during their current streak, breaking out of their bad habit of losing leads late in games during the first round. Torres broke out of a recent slump that saw him lose his starting spot with an efficient 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Abdul led UST with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Aljon Mariano added 16 points, but their bench was out scored by La Salle’s, 20-13.
The Green Archers made 76.5 percent of their 17 free throws, while UST converted 23 out of 30 attempts. The game was won with rebounding however as La Salle grabbed a collective 53 rebounds, 19 of which were offensive, compared to UST’s 41 total rebounds.
No team led by more than four points until three minutes and 17 seconds remained in the second quarter after Jeron Teng scored seven straight points, highlighted by a rare three pointer. The Green Archers led by seven at that point and led by as much as 14 points midway through the third quarter.
The Green Archers battle FEU in a virtual best of three beginning next week on September 21, Saturday, at 3:30 PM in the Mall of Asia Arena. The two teams will fight for a twice-to-beat advantage then will play each other afterwards under the traditional Final Four format with the winner of the playoff needing just one more win to advance to the finals. Last season, both teams also faced off in a playoff but it was for the last Final Four spot.
The Tamaraws swept the first round of this season, but floundered in the second round while the Green Archers did the opposite. It will be an exhilarating offensive showcase as the top two offensive teams in the league slug it out for a ticket to the finals.
The scores:
DLSU 69: Teng 19, Torres N. 14, Vosotros 11, Perkins 7, Van Opstal 6, Revilla 6, Torres T. 3, Salem 3, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, De La Paz 0
UST 64: Abdul 18, Mariano 16, Teng 10, Bautista 6, Sheriff 5, Ferrer 5, Lo 2, Daquioag 2, Pe 0, Faundo 0
Quarter scores: 16-13, 39-30, 53-45, 69-64
