UAAP: Green Archers survive poor shooting to outlast Adamson

The DLSU Green Archers emerged on the winning side once again after a 66-57 victory against the AdU Soaring Falcons. The win gives the Green Archers an 8-3 win-loss record, behind only the FEU Tamaraws who currently hold the top spot in UAAP Season 77 with a record of 9-2.

Jason Perkins led the Green-and-White with a double-double performance of 16 points and 16 rebounds while Jeron Teng added 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists of his own.

Don Trollano was the main thorn in the Green Archers’ side as he scored a game-high 26 points and collected 11 boards.

Although La Salle was running their offense well during the course of the game, notching a total of 16 assists, the Green Archers had a tough time converting their shots. Their three-point field goal percentage was one of their lowest for the season, only shooting 5.88 percent, making one of 17 attempts.

The Green Archers played smart though as they were aggressive in the paint, drawing 23 fouls against Adamson. Moreover, their aggressive play proved crucial, and they scored 21 of their 33 foul shots.

The story of the first quarter was all about La Salle’s pesky defense against Adamson as they were able to force a total of 20 turnovers. The intense defense of the Taft-based squad left the Falcons answerless, and La Salle ended the first quarter with a 15 point lead, 23-8.

Adamson quickly answered in the second quarter, improving their offense and defense, as they outscored the Green Archers, 19-10. The two teams ended the first half with a score of 33-27, still in La Salle’s favor.

The Green-and-White bounced back after their lackluster performance late in the first half. Jason Perkins led the charge to keep La Salle in the driver’s seat. Perkins scored nine of his 16 points in the third quarter while bagging five rebounds in the period.

Inside scoring was the story in the third as DLSU held Adamson to six points in the paint, while scoring 12 of their own. The Green Archers hustled defensively, forcing Adamson to shoot contested perimeter jumpers.

Trollano was the bright spot for Adamson, scoring seven points while dishing out two assists in the quarter alone. The period ended with a 55-43 lead for La Salle.

The Soaring Falcons attempted to come back once again in the final period, but DLSU controlled the paint with their interior passing that provided balanced scoring for the Green-and-White. Adamson had multiple chances in the game but was troubled with turnovers, mainly caused by the pressure defense of La Salle.

The only made three-point shot by the Green Archers came in the middle of the fourth quarter as Robert Bolick sunk a wide open three off an assist from Teng.

“It’s hard to win if you can’t make an open three [pointer]. If you looked at the game of the Philippines [Gilas Pilipinas], the three is going to be crucial.”, said Coach Juno Sauler expressing his dismay.

With the win, the Green Archers are still in the run for the top spot in the elimination round. Next up for La Salle are the struggling UST Growling Tigers whom they will face on September 6 at 4 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Scores:
DLSU 66: Perkins-16 Teng-15 Vosotros-12 van Opstal-7 Torres-6 Montalbo-4 Sargent-3 Bolick-3 Rivero-0
AdU 57: Trollano-26 Rios-11 Ochea-6 Nalos-5 Montecarlo-4 Aquino-3 Barrera-2 Villanueva-0 Baytan-0 Polican-0 Iñigo-0 Garcia-0