UAAP: Green Archers, FEU battle for top spot

With a total of four teams boasting a league-high of seven wins, the competition has been highly competitive in this year’s edition of the UAAP. The DLSU Green Archers can break away from the group and become the first squad with eight wins as they battle the FEU Tamaraws for their second-round rematch this Wednesday, August 27, at 4 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.

DLSU and FEU sit atop of the standings with identical 7-2 records, while the idle NU Bulldogs and ADMU Blue Eagles have the same amount of wins, but each have three losses. A win for DLSU will mark its eighth consecutive victory and more importantly a solo first-place in the team standings.

Opening day setback

The defending champions dropped their opener against the Tamaraws as they faltered in the final quarter to end with a score of 82-77. The game was controlled by the Green Archers as they would end up with a two-point lead heading into the deciding period.

In the fourth quarter, the Morayta-based squad rallied behind Mike Tolomia’s trio of long-range conversions as the guards of DLSU could not keep him at bay. Mac Belo’s all-around game and timely shots proved too much for the boys from Taft to retake the lead.

Tolomia led the FEU charge with 23 points supported by Belo’s 20. Role players Russel Escoto and Carl Cruz added 13 and 11 markers respectively for the Tamaraw’s cause.

Starters Almond Vosotros, Jeron Teng and Jason Perkins all registered in double figures with 18, 14 and 11 respectively to lead the Green-and-White.

Similar style of play

DLSU and FEU are two offensive powerhouse teams as they manage 75.3 and 74.1 points per game respectively. The latter has a slight edge in defense as FEU allows 67.8 points as opposed to DLSU’s 68.2.

FEU and DLSU rely heavily on assists as they lead the league with 16 and 15.9 assists per game. DLSU also leads the league in second chance points, while FEU is the most consistent in field-goal percentage.

The front court of DLSU will again be at an advantage against an FEU team who ranks last in the league in blocks per game.

The injury-bug has left the Green Archers as head coach Juno Sauler will have his prized wards back from injury with the exception of starting point guard Thomas Torres, who remains on the injury list.

The Green Archers look to continue their dominant play as of late and beat the only remaining team they have yet to conquer this season.