Every game for the DLSU Green Archers is a test and today’s 73-72 loss to the UST Growling Tigers is their toughest loss yet this season. Staring at a 17 point deficit early in the first quarter, the Green Archers fought back, even grabbing the lead at 40-38 thanks to a basket from Almond Vosotros. Heart put the Green Archers back into the game, yet it wasn’t enough as Jeric Teng and Kevin Ferrer hit the big shots to give UST the opening win in this best-of-three finals.
After Vosotros opened the scoring for the Green Archers, UST came out of the gates firing, going on an 18-0 run that gave the Espana-based squad an 18-2 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. Ferrer was waxing hot from beyond the arc, as his back breaking threes blitzed the Green Archers and sent the UST crowd into a frenzy. Jeron Teng broke the run with 3:55 left in the first as he, Vosotros and Thomas Torres helped cut the deficit to 10, 23-13 at the end of the first.
“It’s Ferrer that killed us,” says DLSU head coach Juno Sauler. “I can live with [the] 36 percent [shooting of] Jeric [Teng] in the two point area, but Ferrer’s 62 percent from outside was the one that killed us.”
DLSU fought back in the second quarter as Arnold van Opstal and Teng combined for 11 points in the second to trim the deficit to seven, 38-31, heading into halftime. The Green Archers stepped up on defense as they limited Ferrer to two points in the period and prevented forward Aljon Mariano from scoring a single point for the entire first half.
The third quarter was DLSU’s strongest quarter as they went on a 9-0 run to take the lead at 40-38 with 6:30 left in the third. Jason Perkins, Vosotros, and van Opstal did the most damage for the Green-and-White as they combined for 18 points to give DLSU a 54-50 lead heading into the final quarter.
Jeric Teng opened the final quarter with two consecutive baskets to give UST the lead at 55-54 with not even a minute off the clock. Perkins gave DLSU back the lead at 56-55 but Ferrer answered with a three to swing the lead back to UST. It was a back and forth affair for both teams as they kept exchanging baskets as the fourth quarter went on.
Jeron Teng split his free throws to trim the UST lead to one but Ferrer hit a clutch three from the top of the key to give UST a four point lead with 42 seconds left in the game. He completed the three point play with a free throw to keep DLSU within one. UST turned the ball over, giving DLSU a shot to win it in the end, yet a wild scramble featuring attempts from Teng and Revilla ended as the clock expired and UST came up the victor.
“It all went down to the breaks of the game,” a jubilant UST coach Pido Jarencio said after the game. “Muntikan na manalo La Salle kasi nakaturnover kami dun sa last possession namin.”
Vosotros broke out of his slump to lead the Green Archers with 20 points yet it wasn’t enough to give them the victory. Jeron Teng also came up with 15 points, while van Opstal and Perkins scored 13 and 11 points respectively.
DLSU won the rebounding game by the slimmest of margins, 44-43, with Perkins leading the team with 11. UST relied on their hot three point shooting as they made 41.2 percent of their shots compared to the 30.8 percent of DLSU.
Ferrer led the Growling Tigers in scoring with 20 points, highlighted by his five crucial three pointers. Karim Abdul supported Ferrer with 19 points and led UST in rebounding with 12. Jeric Teng rounded out the double figure scorers for UST with 17 points and also added seven rebounds and three assists.
UST and DLSU will square off once again on Saturday, October 5, in a do-or-die match for the Green Archers at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum at 3:30 PM. At 2 PM, the UAAP will also hand out its Season 76 individual awards also in the same venue, with Perkins set to be named a member of the Mythical Five.
The scores:
UST 73 – Ferrer 20, Abdul 19, Teng 17, Sheriff 6, Daquioag 4, Bautista 3, Mariano 2, Lao 2, Pe 0, Lo 0
DLSU 72 – Vosotros 20, Teng 15, van Opstal 13, Perkins 11, T. Torres 7, Revilla 4, N. Torres 2, Tampus 0, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, De La Paz, 0.
Quarterscores: 23-13, 38-31, 50-54, 73-72
