FilOil: DLSU, UST aim for playoff berth in final elimination game

The DLSU Green Archers will be clashing with a UAAP rival for the second time this pre-season as they face the UST Growling Tigers in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup on Saturday, June 6, in the San Juan Arena at 5 pm.

Tomorrow’s game can be considered a rematch of the 2013 UAAP finalists, with both squads currently in the middle of the pack of the Group B standings. La Salle sports a 5-2 win-loss column, putting them in a tie with San Beda for 3rd and 4th place. The Growling Tigers, meanwhile, are right behind with a 4-3 record, thus making them the sole 5th-place team. A victory by UST could help keep their playoff hopes alive by tying their record with the Green Archers’ and that of San Beda, making this a crucial game for both squads.

DLSU is coming off a loss the last week at the hands of the CEU Scorpions. They were scorched, 93-78, behind the hot hands of Carlo Casino, who made five three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone. Jason Perkins led the Taft-based squad with 19 points while Prince Rivero was the only other La Salle player to finish in double digits with 12. The loss snapped a five-game winning run by the Green Archers, which also saw rookie Andrei Caracut’s string of stellar performances end.

The Growling Tigers, on the other hand, are on a mini-streak of their own. They won their last two contests against Lyceum and Southwestern University despite competing with a depleted line-up. Ed Daquioag has stepped up as of late, leading his team in scoring with an average of 24 points in his last three outings.

In their head to head match-ups in the UAAP last season, the Green Archers won both games against UST. Their first round encounter resulted into a lopsided 83-70 victory for the Green and White while the second game was more tightly contested with a score of 67-60 in favor of La Salle. Jeron Teng dominated with averages of 24 points and 6.5 rebounds in both games.

One crucial factor coming into this game is that both teams will be missing key players. La Salle and UST will be missing the services of Rivero and Ferrer respectively, since both were called up to join the national team, which will be competing in this week’s Southeast Asian Games. Also missing from the Tigers bench is Karim Abdul, who wasn’t inserted in the summer line-up to give way to new recruits. The Green Archers also lost Kib Montalbo to a knee injury a few weeks ago.

With a playoff berth at stake, expect both squads to slug it out as if it were the UAAP season. Although certain key players will be missing for a number of reasons, a good game is always at hand when something is put on the line.