FilOil: Drive for five – La Salle looks to extend streak against Mapúa

After winning four straight games, the DLSU Green Archers look to continue the onslaught and extend their winning streak to five as they face the Mapúa Cardinals tomorrow, May 27, 5pm at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

Much of the success of the Green Archers can be attributed to the consistent scoring of former San Beda Red Cub, Andrei Caracut. During the course of the FilOil Flying V Premier Cup thus far, Caracut has been the main source of La Salle’s offense, leading in points for most of the games.

As of press time, Caracut is the fifth leading scorer for the whole tournament, averaging 18.2 points per game on an impressive 59.6 field goal percentage. To add to that list, Caracut is also the tournament’s three-point leader as he made 19 out of his 30 attempts for a 63.3 percent accuracy.

Interestingly, Joshua Torralba, another Green Archer rookie, comes in second on the three-point leader board. Torralba is currently shooting 60 percent from three-point territory, making nine out of 15 for the whole tournament.

On the other hand, the Mapúa Cardinals were fortunate to grab their first win of the tournament as they dropped the SWU Cobras, 81-73, in their last match. Prior to that victory, the Intramuros-based squad was winless in four tries this season in contrast to DLSU, who racked up four straight wins after losing to the SBC Red Lions in their season opener.

Joshua Nimes, NCAA’s 2011 Rookie of the Year, led the Cardinals over SWU with a final tally of 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists. After sitting out the past two seasons, he believes that he is out of the injury bug and hopes to regain his stellar rookie form. He is currently the team’s leading scorer with an average of 15 a game.

Teammates CJ Isit and Bien Dela Rosa contributed 16 points apiece, in addition to Nimes’ performance, which finally put a W on the Cardinal’s record in five games.

Fellow Cardinal Allwell Oraeme finished close to a double-double with nine points and 17 rebounds while continuing his dominance on the board with a league-high 19.2 rebounds per game.

Inside, outside; Paint, perimeter

Expect the two teams to showcase opposing styles tomorrow, with DLSU favoring the perimeter-oriented strategy while Mapúa relying on paint-heavy pace.

The sweet-shooting combo of rookies Caracut and Torralba led the tournament in three-point percentage as they both post a 60 percent conversion rate from beyond the arc while also taking a fair share of attempts from downtown.

On the other hand, Cardinal big man Oraeme is one of the leaders in two-point makes with almost six field goals per outing. Add in his three-block average per game and you have a threat inside the paint.

The Green Archers are on a rampage as the Cardinals look to begin one of their own.

Who will prevail? Tomorrow we’ll find out.