UAAP: Green Archers set sights on UST for third straight win

Less than a month into UAAP Season 78, the DLSU Green Archers have already had to endure a crushing blowout, a heartbreaking loss, and even faced the toughest of presses. When they take on the UST Growling Tigers tomorrow at 4 pm, they will face a team that, just like them, fought through various hurdles just to stay in contention for a Final Four spot.

Both teams are not strangers to one another as they were the protagonists in the UAAP Season 76 Finals in 2013, with DLSU needing all three games to take down the fourth-seeded UST. Fast forward to Season 78 and both teams are seeking to bounce back from what was a forgettable Season 77 for them.

Tale of the previous games

Last season, the Green Archers took both games from the Growling Tigers, pulling away late in their first round encounter to take an 83-70 win. Jeron Teng led the Green Archers with 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Jason Perkins added 15 points and nine rebounds. Aljon Mariano and Louie Vigil led UST with 20 and 19 points, respectively, but Kevin Ferrer missed two crucial three-pointers and committed a turnover late in the fourth quarter, allowing La Salle to snatch the game from them. In their second round meeting, UST took a 34-30 lead at halftime yet they only managed to score 26 points in the second half as DLSU, led by Teng’s 19 points in the second half, took a 67-60 win to inch themselves closer to a Final Four spot. Arnold van Opstal was the only other Green Archer to finish in double figures with 11 points but La Salle had 18 bench points to UST’s eight and forced the Growling Tigers’ starters to miss 37 of their 54 shot attempts.

La Salle’s victory over UE last Sunday showed not just their team effort, but their ability to adjust to whatever the defense threw at them. Though they once again committed 30 turnovers against a press-happy Red Warrior squad, Teng and rookies Andrei Caracut and Larry Muyang combined for 43 points to give La Salle a 71-64 victory. It was an all-around effort for the Green Archers as Josh Torralba and Julian Sargent, who combined for 12 points in the win, shut down UE’s Edison Batiller, who missed all of his shots and earned his two points from the free throw line.

UST, on the other hand, came back from being down by as many as 16 points to snatch a 68-58 victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Ferrer overcame his illness to finish with 27 points on six three-pointers while adding nine rebounds. Ed Daquioag and Abdul needed 22 shot attempts to score their 16 combined points but they made the crucial baskets down the stretch to overcome Von Pessumal and Kiefer Ravena, who scored 19 and 13 points, respectively.

Next man up

Though both teams can match up against one another in terms of depth, UST’s current roster has more veterans than the rookie-laden Green Archer squad. Aside from the starters, Louie Vigil, Jon Sheriff, and even Renzo Subido are among the holdovers UST head coach Bong Dela Cruz can call upon.

The Green Archers, on the other hand, will rely on their youth and depth on the front court to keep Abdul and Mario Bonleon busy on Wednesday. Muyang, who had 11 rebounds and four blocks, will man the paint with the likes of Abu Tratter, Prince Rivero, and Perkins. Torralba and Sargent will also look to build on their defensive effort on Batillier as they take on a bigger and more experienced player in Ferrer.

As the Green Archers slowly gain traction in Season 78, the pressure and the obstacles that come with the UAAP will only get tougher. The same can be said for UST, whose 4-1 record was, to borrow a popular slogan, earned and not given. Come Wednesday, in the Mall of Asia Arena, both teams will push each other to the limit just for that one victory that will definitely be easier said than done.