By the numbers: DLSU versus UST

FIVE. That’s the number of times the DLSU Green Archers and the UST Growling Tigers will play against each other once this season is over. It’s more than any opponent either team has faced and at this point, both teams are very much familiar with each other’s tendencies.

The Green Archers prefer to take it to the post, with their notable size advantage paving the way for more rebounds and points in the paint. The Growling Tigers, on the other hand, are a more perimeter-oriented team, doing most of their damage from midrange. Both teams have split the four previous games and a closer look at the numbers shows that despite their contrasting styles and notable strengths, they all balance out to create an even matchup so come Game Three, anything goes.

Scoring: DLSU- 69, UST- 67.5

DLSU is the more offensively potent team, averaging 69 points in their four match-ups with UST. The Growling Tigers aren’t that far behind, as they scored 67.5 points in those four games. In the finals, both teams have consistently reached the 70-point mark, with UST barely scoring 70 in a losing effort in Game Two.

The key scoring match-up in the four games has been between the Teng brothers, as they have led their respective teams in scoring. Jeric Teng leads the Growling Tigers with 17.3 points per game while Jeron Teng averages 15 in the four contests against his brother this season. In both DLSU wins this season, Jeron has led his team in scoring, highlighted by his 19 point showing in DLSU’s win in the second game of the finals.

Rebounding: DLSU- 51.5, UST- 32

Despite UST leading the UAAP in rebounding, they have yet to out rebound DLSU in all four games this season. There is a huge discrepancy in the rebounding department as DLSU grabs 51.5 rebounds a game, while UST collects just 32, an incredible 19 board difference.

In addition, DLSU maintains a 20.3 offensive rebounding average as opposed to UST’s 8.8, allowing the Green Archers more second chance points. In both finals games, the Taft-based squad has scored 12 and 18 second chance points, an average of 15 a game compared to UST’s average of four a game. In Game Two of the finals, Norbert Torres actually out rebounded the entire UST team on the offensive end, seven to six, a key factor that got him going to the tune of 16 points and 10 rebounds en route to a crucial win to force the winner-take-all Game Three.

Front court points: DLSU- 44.3, UST- 33.8

The DLSU battalion of front court players composed of sophomore Jeron Teng, the towering Arnold van Opstal, team captain Norbert Torres and Mythical Five member Jason Perkins are matched up against UST’s Karim Abdul, Paolo Pe, Aljon Mariano and Kevin Ferrer. The height advantage of DLSU has allowed to outscore their counterparts by almost 11 points per game.

In Game Two of the finals, where the Green Archers heeded Coach Juno Sauler’s request to milk the post, they outscored the UST front court . La Salle has also been aided by the current slump of the versatile Mariano who has averaged just 5.5 points per game in the finals.

Free throw percentage: DLSU- 62.5, UST- 77.8

Free throws were notoriously the Green Archers’ waterloo this season. Against UST, it was the same story as they shot 62.5 percent from the charity stripe while UST shot a more accurate 77.8 percent. Furthermore, UST shoots four more attempts a game than DLSU does. To add to that, Jeron Teng shoots 45.3 percent from the fifteen foot line. Both Abdul and Torres have come up big for their teams at the line, with both big men shooting 88.89 and 80 percent respectively. Torres was instrumental in game two as he made all eight of his attempts from the line to give his team the victory.

Three point attempts: DLSU- 20, UST- 19.3

La Salle’s Almond Vosotros has attempted 39 shots from long distance against UST this season. However, the starting shooting guard shoots miserably against the Tigers, only making eight of his total attempts for a dismal 20 percent. His team is no different as DLSU shoots a combined 23 percent from three-point land.

Despite Kevin Ferrer’s Game One explosion from deep where he connected on five of eight three pointers, his team is worse than DLSU as they shoot 19 percent from distance in four meetings. With UST’s reputation as a perimeter team, one would expect them to attempt more three-point shots in this series, yet the Green Archers actually average more at 20 compared to the Tigers’ 18.5 attempts from three.

Fourth quarter scoring: DLSU- 16, UST- 17.5

“They need to have a better output in the fourth quarter. I think we only scored 13 points, the lowest output of the game. Hopefully we can score more than 13 points”, shared coach Juno Sauler when asked about things to work on for Game Three.

In the four games against UST, DLSU averages only 16 in the final period, while their opponents average 17.5 a game. UST outscored DLSU, 23-18, in the penultimate quarter of the first finals game to take it and though they once again won the fourth, 17 to 13, in the second game, it didn’t matter as the Green Archers came out of the gates with guns blazing to earn the win. The Taft-based squad only won the fourth quarter once, in their opening loss to UST, yet two of the games in which they lost the fourth quarter have been victories.

One team may have the edge in a particular statistic in this series yet the other makes up for it in another. In all four games, no team has lost by more than seven points, proving that the outcome of each game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer sounded. With the way the thrilling finals series has gone, a single rebound or a crucial free throw can spell the difference between who comes out as the champion and who comes home empty on Saturday.