FilOil: DLSU hands gritty UE its first loss of the season

After struggling early in the first half, the DLSU Green Archers relied on crucial three pointers and stingy defense to give the UE Red Warriors their first loss in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup, 96-82, earlier today at the San Juan Arena.

Andrei Caracut continued to perform well in the preseason tournament as he led all scorers with 21 points, while making five of his three pointers, three of which came in the second half.

“We made shots and we didn’t turn the ball over [in the second half] and we were able to make stops also,” Green Archers head coach Juno Sauler said after the game.

Tight first half

DLSU and UE traded baskets early in the first quarter, with Caracut scoring seven points on two three pointers to keep the Green Archers afloat. The Red Warriors eventually capitalized on their offensive rebounds to gain a 19-13 advantage midway through the first quarter. Rivero and Caracut continued to keep DLSU within striking distance, yet UE ended the quarter on top, 29-24.

The second quarter was quite similar to the first. DLSU was able to rely on rookies Lorenzo Navarro and Joshua Torralba to run the La Salle offense that tied the score at 48 by halftime.

Caracut and Rivero continued to lead the charge. However, the rookies, highlighted by a crucial Larry Muyang basket down the stretch, were able to offset the exit of Kib Montalbo, who had six points prior to leaving the game with a suspected knee injury.

“Actually all the teams we’ve played have been physical,” Sauler mentioned, adding that the other teams have suffered injuries of their own.

Breakaway second half

After another basket from Muyang to open the second half, Jason Perkins made two straight three pointers to give DLSU a lead they would never relinquish. Having been held scoreless in the first half, Perkins led the 12-2 run that gave the Green Archers a 60-50 lead midway through the third quarter. The lead would eventually balloon to a 20 point lead, 70-50, after Rivero made two free throws that capped off a 10-0 run.

In the fourth quarter, Caracut and Jollo Go each made three pointers while Teng scored six points to keep the Green Archer’s lead at double digits. UE made an 8-2 run to cut the lead to nine, 84-75, with 4:06 left in the game. However, a Caracut three pointer and two made free throws from Teng put the Red Warriors away for good.

Rivero was also instrumental in this game as he scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Torralba added 12 points on three of four shooting from behind the three point line, while Perkins had 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Teng also finished the game with an all around performance of nine points, four rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.

“I’m not really just [looking at] Andrei but hopefully the other guys can keep improving [on] their game,” Sauler said, when asked about the development of his players.

Edson Batiller led UE with 18 points, one rebound, and five assists while Edgar Charcos, who had nine points at halftime, finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Bertrand Awana finished with the game’s only double-double as he had 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

DLSU was out hustled in the rebounding department, as they gave up 46 rebounds while only collecting 44. Nearly half of these came from the offensive end, wherein UE had 19 to DLSU’s 12. The Green Archers were the more efficient passing team as they made twice as many assists as the Red Warriors had, 24-12.

Up next for the Green Archers is a game against Southwestern University next Saturday, May 23, at 5pm, in the San Juan Arena. This will be the first game the Cobras will play in this preseason cup.

The scores:

DLSU 96 – Caracut 21, Rivero 15, Torralba 12, Perkins 11, Teng 9, Muyang 8, Montalbo 6, Torres 5, van Opstal 4, Go 3, Navarro 2, Gob 0, Pascual 0

UE 82 – Batiller 18, Charcos 11, Awana 11, Gonzales 9, Manalang 8, Javier 7, Abanto 7, De Leon 4, Gagate 2, Cudal 2, Cruz 2, Penuela 1, P. Varilla 0, Palma 0, Larupay 0, J. Varilla 0

Quarterscores: 24-29, 48-48, 74-62, 96-82