The DLSU Green Archers succumbed to the FEU Tamaraws, 93-75, earlier this evening in their third UAAP Season 78 Men’s Basketball game at the Mall of Asia Arena. With their second consecutive loss, La Salle moves to sixth place with a 1-2 win loss record.
The Morayta-based squad assisted on 22 of their 34 successful field goals and connected on 48 percent of their total attempts in a display of offensive efficiency that victimized DLSU, who failed to crack 40 percent field goal shooting for the third consecutive game, and posted a meager eight total assists.
Jeron Teng had a huge game with 29 points, 10 boards, and four assists. Sophomore Julian Sargent, meanwhile, registered 11 points and 11 rebounds in DLSU’s losing effort.
FEU’s veteran tandem of Mac Belo and Mike Tolomia once again spearheaded the Tamaraws’ attack. Despite both players coming off the bench, Tolomia led FEU with 20 points, while Belo contributed 17 points and had a game-high four blocks.
Teng had a solid opening quarter for the Taft-based squad with 11 first quarter points. However, the Tamaraws were on target from beyond the arc early on with back-to-back three-pointers by Trinidad and Tolomia. Meanwhile the Green Archers were struggling from both ends of the court, missing wide open shots and were outnumbered on the defensive glass.
The Green Archers finally found their rhythm midway through the opening canto, utilizing their pick and roll offense against FEU’s slower big men. La Salle also managed to get timely defensive stops and converting at the other end. The Tamaraws, however, had the last word as Belo made a buzzer beating three pointer as the quarter ended with DLSU still on top, 25-24.
La Salle started the second period with an undersized lineup, with the 6’3 Prince Rivero manning the center position. Despite this, the Green Archers passed the ball to the post and had a total of 12 inside points in the quarter. They led for as much as four points before the Tamaraws sparked a 12-0 run courtesy of three-point field goals by Joe Trinidad, Francis Tamsi, and Tolomia.
FEU started to beat La Salle’s pick and roll attack with their quick help defense. The Green Archers went on a run of their own in the last minutes of the first half, capitalized by a buzzer-beating jumper by Sargent. At the end of the first half, DLSU trailed the Tamaraws, 45-43.
Composure cracked by competition
For the first four minutes of the third quarter, the game was in neither team’s control as the Green Archers traded baskets with the Tamaraws in a battle for control. Teng nailed a jumper after FEU big man Orizu’s layup, but it was both the Green Archers’ final field goal of the third quarter and the game’s turning point.
Four three-pointers, three point-blank shots, two free throws, and a jump shot comprised the blistering 20-0 run in the third quarter put forth by last year’s finalists, effectively stunning the Taft-based squad and breaking their collective spirit.
Seven players, led by Roger Pogoy and Orizu with eight points apiece, contributed at least a basket in the third quarter as compared to only three from DLSU. Teng scored six points, while teammates Larry Muyang and Caracut provided three and two points in the quarter, respectively. By the end of the third quarter what was once a two-point lead ballooned to 23, 77-54, which ultimately decided the game’s outcome.
DLSU was able to cut the deficit to 14 in the final three minutes of the game as FEU committed turnover after turnover. Unfortunately for the Green Archers, the lead was too much for them to trim as time was not on their side. Teng and Caracut made baskets that put them closer to their opponents, but FEU maintained their composure and their offensive rhythm to put the game away.
The Green Archers will have a week to prepare for their next opponents, the Adamson Falcons, whom they will play on Sunday, September 20, at 4 pm in the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
FEU 93- Tolomia 20, Belo 17, Orizu 12, Pogoy 8, Inigo 6, Jose 6, Tamsi 6, Trinidad 6, Ru. Escoto 5, Arong 3, Comboy 3, Holqvist 1, Ebona 0, Ri. Escoto 0.
DLSU 75- Teng 29, Caracut 13, Sargent 11, Rivero 8, Perkins 5, Navarro 3, Muyang 3, Torralba 2, Go 1, Tratter 0, Torres 0, Langston 0.
Quarter Scores: 24-25, 45-43, 77-54, 93-75
