Fil-Oil: DLSU advances to quarterfinals despite loss to UPHSD

The UPHSD Altas came back from a 20-point deficit to overcome the DLSU Green Archers, 98-95, at the last game of the eliminations of the 2014 Filoil Flying V Premier Cup, earlier today at The Arena in San Juan.

Jeron Teng and Arnold Van Opstal led DLSU with 20 points apiece while Almond Vosotros managed to get 16 markers in the loss. Meanwhile, UPHSD’s Juneric Baloria amassed a total of 43 points, to lead all scorers in the match.

The Green Archers book a ticket to the quarterfinals after placing third in the Group A standings and seventh overall, with a 4-2 win-loss card.

Early in the first quarter, the DLSU Green Archers were able to secure an early advantage. The La Salle squad started the quarter with an 11-2 run at the 6:47 mark which extended to a 14-4 run midway through the first quarter. In spite of this, UPHSD was able to rally back with a 12-5 run of their own which cut La Salle’s lead to only three points, 19-16. The first quarter ended with a score of 28-21, in favor of the Green Archers.

After UPHSD’s Thompson nailed the first basket of the second quarter, the Green Archers ignited a fiery 16-1 run. Julian Sargent led the run for DLSU as he scored six points during that stretch. After trailing as much as 20 points in the quarter, the Perpetual Altas managed to trim down the lead to nine with a 17-6 run to end the half, 50-41.

The Altas started the third quarter aggressively as they cut the Green sides’ lead to just six points, 53-47, with seven minutes remaining. La Salle would however, extend the lead back to double digits behind the efforts of Arnold Van Opstal, who scored seven points in the period. The Green Archers finished the quarter on a 14-4 run, limiting Perpetual on the offensive end of the court.

To start the fourth quarter, the Altas exploded with a 21-7 run to cut the lead of the Green Archers to two points.  It was Altas guard, Baloria who had the hot hand in the final quarter, scoring 21 of his 43 points off three point clutches and free throws. With three minutes left in the game, the Altas secured the lead for the first time through two free throws by Baloria. With a Vosotros three-pointer, the Green Archers were able to regain the lead, and it became a see-saw battle for quite a while.

DLSU’s Teng and Vosotros trimmed the lead down to two, hitting three of four foul shots with 20 seconds left, 93-95. However, Baloria and Arboleda managed to get three free throws of their own to extend the lead back to five.

The quotient rule requires UPHSD to win by a margin of four points to secure a seat in the quarterfinals. On the brink of being eliminated due to the this rule, Van Opstal drained two free throws to end the game at 98-95, giving Perpetual the victory, yet handing DLSU a quarterfinals ticket.

Next up for the Green Archers are the second-seed FEU Tamaraws whom they will face on June 4, 2 pm at The Arena in San Juan.

The scores:

UPHSD 98: Baloria- 43, Dagangon- 15, Thompson- 14, Arboleda- 12, Oliveria- 6, Allano- 5, Ylagan- 2, Dizon- 1, Bantayan- 0, Gallardo- 0, Sadiwa- 0, Cabiltes- 0, Jolangcob- 0, Elorpe- 0

DLSU 95: Teng- 20, Van Opstal- 20, Vosotros- 16, Sargent- 9, Montalbo- 8, N. Torres- 8, T. Torres- 4, Perkins- 3, Tratter- 3, Rivero- 2, Salem- 2, Andrada- 0, Bolick- 0

Quarter Scores: 21-28, 41-50, 57-73, 98-95