FilOil: Green Archers succumb to Red Lions in preseason finals match

The DLSU Green Archers suffered a huge loss against the San Beda Red Lions, 79-53, earlier today in the finals match of the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup. With the loss, La Salle was unable to defend their preseason title, while the Red Lions claimed their first crown in the said tournament.

Jeron Teng led the Green Archers in a losing effort with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. Andrei Caracut also added 10 points of his own.

On the other hand, the Red Lions were led by Ryusei Koga, who scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds in the victory. Ola Adeogun finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.

The Red Lions struggled with conversions during the early minutes of the opening period. Unable to convert on most of their offensive opportunities, San Beda faced an early 7-2 deficit against a more composed La Salle team. However,  Adeogun’s efforts from inside the paint helped the Mendiola-based squad catch up, as the big man scored consecutive baskets to keep the scoreboard active for his team. Caracut immediately stopped San Beda’s mini run and the first period eventually concluded at 13-8, in favor of La Salle.

The second quarter saw a more aggressive Red Lions team, as the Green Archers found some difficulty in defending San Beda’s Koga and Ranbill Tongco. With San Beda big man Pierre Tankoua scoring four consecutive points to trim the deficit to one, 15-14, during the early moments of the second quarter, La Salle failed to convert on their field goal attempts to halt their opponent’s rally. Tongco made a three-pointer to force a 17-17 deadlock with under seven minutes remaining in the first half. Additionally, the Green Archers  went through a scoring drought, as the Red Lions went on an 11-0 run, thereby establishing a 30-19 run with 2:25 remaining before the half. Things already seemed favorable for the Red Lions, but a scramble during the final 8.8 seconds of the half led to a technical foul on Adeogun. Teng made all five of the resulting free throws, concluding the half with La Salle trailing, 32-26.

San Beda remained on the driver’s seat all throughout the third quarter, as successful and consistent field goals from their perimeter shooters allowed them to push their lead to over 20 points. The Red Lions outscored La Salle, 27-11, during the quarter, thereby taking control of the match for good. The third period concluded with the Mendiola-based squad sitting on a 22-point advantage, 59-37.

The final quarter saw the offense of the Green Archers squad further faltering with missed inside attempts plaguing the team. On the other hand, the Red Lions continued with their hot perimeter shooting, courtesy of Koga, Art Dela Cruz, and Dan Sara. With the game clock melting down, the match finished with a 79-53 victory plus the championship for the San Beda Red Lions.

“San Beda played very well [on] both ends of the floor,” Green Archers head coach  Juno Sauler said after the game. “They changed up a lot on defense, which slowed our game down. Then from there I think we started becoming tentative on the offensive end.”

Teng and Caracut were the only Green Archers that finished in double figures. Thomas Torres had with eight points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Jason Perkins had six points, six rebounds, and three assists.

The Red Lions dominated the Green Archers across the board, as they had more rebounds (42-35), made more assists (18-8), and only committed 13 turnovers compared to DLSU’s 21.

The Scores:

SBC 79 – Koga 18, Tankoua 12, Adeogun 11, Dela Cruz 10, Tongco 8, Sara 6, Mendoza 6, Sorela 6, Mocon 2, Reyes 0, Soberano 0, Sedillo 0, Presbitero 0, Carlos 0, Abude 0, Abuda 0

DLSU 53 – Teng 21, Caracut 10, Torres 8, Perkins 6, Tratter 6, Sargent 2, Go 0, Torralba 0, Muyang 0, Gob 0, Pascual 0

Quarter scores: 8-13, 32-24, 59-37, 79-53