UAAP: Green Archers survive gritty UE for second victory

By the skin of their teeth, the DLSU Green Archers took down the previously undefeated UE Red Warriors by a deuce, 60-58. It was a thrilling win that rocked the Mall of Asia Arena as the Green Archers turned up the heat in the last quarter and were able to regain the lead in the last two minutes after trailing for most of the game.

The man of the match was Jeron Teng who scored 18 points and also recorded four assists, six rebounds, and one steal. Another notable performance came from former NCAA Juniors MVP and rookie Green Archer Prince Rivero who scored the crucial points for DLSU in the last minute to give his team the lead and the win.

Both teams had a slow start, however, in the opening minutes of the first quarter. After being scoreless for two minutes, the Green Archers opened the scoring with a lay-up by Teng who also drew a foul and made a free throw. La Salle extended the lead to seven points at the six minute mark, but the Red Warriors were able to fight back with the combined efforts of Moustapha Arafat and Paul Varilla. Just when the Red Warriors closed the lead to only two points, an unsportsmanlike foul was called on Charles Mammie. Despite this, the constant pressure and effort of the Red Warriors earned them a 14-12 lead over the Green Archers after 10 minutes of play.

In the second quarter, momentum remained with the Red Warriors as they were able to force the Green Archers to commit multiple turnovers. The Green Archers struggled offensively as they had a hard time beating the full court press of the Red Warriors who were able to gain the biggest lead of the half at nine points. In spite of this, the Green Archers were able to force some turnovers of their own and were able to chop the lead down to only two points by the end of the first half. The story of the first half was the multiple turnovers from both teams. The Red Warriors had 13 turnovers in the first half while the Green Archers had 22.

The Red Warriors kept their lead in the opening of the second half and their run was highlighted by Roi Sumang’s three point field goal. Green Archer Almond Vosotros then returned the favor and scored his first three pointer of the game, which cut UE’s lead to just one, 35-34. However, the Red Warriors were able to pull away and ended the third quarter up by 10 points, 46-36.

The tables suddenly turned in the final quarter as the Green Archers finally got the right rhythm to keep up with the Red Warriors. Timely free throws from Teng and inside shots from Norbert Torres cut UE’s lead to just two points, 50-48. However, with 5:53 left to play, Jason Perkins fouled out from the game after incurring five personal fouls. Arnold van Opstal’s inside basket finally tied the game at 51-all, but he was later on fouled out of the match. Rivero ignited the fire for La Salle as his inside shot put the Green Archers ahead for the first time since the first quarter, 55-54.

With less than one minute to play, Rivero had another two-point basket, which put La Salle up by four. In the last 10 seconds of the game, Sumang tried to take a two point basket to push for an overtime period but failed, sealing La Salle’s second win of UAAP Season 77, 60-58.

“We’re lucky to pull this through with 36 turnovers,” shares head coach Juno Sauler after the game. He added that his team defended well in last quarter of the game. The La Salle coach also commended the big man Torres who contributed 14 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.

Up next for the Green Archers are the AdU Falcons whom they will face on August 2 at 4 pm in the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.