UAAP: Green Archers collapse to resilient UST

Consistency remains to be one of the key aspects the DLSU Green Archers need to improve on as the season continues to unfold. In what was a crucial match against the UST Growling Tigers, La Salle let a game they had in control early slip away, suffering a 77-61 debacle yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It was a tale of two halves as DLSU remained on top for most of the first half, only to see their lead shrink towards halftime and eventually disappear midway through the third quarter. Jeron Teng had 13 points and nine rebounds while Joshua Torralba had 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists, but the Green Archers could not overcome the 17 and 13 points that Kevin Ferrer and Karim Abdul contributed in their victory, respectively, with the former missing only two shots the entire game.

The Green Archers lost the opening tip but they raced to an 8-2 lead with 8:24 left in the first quarter after two three-pointers from Torralba and a basket from Teng. Abdul responded with two baskets to cut the lead to two, 8-6, but Teng, along with Jason Perkins and Julian Sargent, brought La Salle’s lead back to six, 16-10, with 1:42 left in the first quarter. Two free throws from Andrei Caracut gave the Green Archers their largest lead of the quarter at eight, 18-10, but Ed Daquioag scored with five seconds remaining in the quarter to bring the lead back to six, 18-12.

In the second quarter, DLSU tried to put the game away early, racing to a 30-16 lead on a 12-4 run sparked by Prince Rivero’s five points. Down by double-digits with 5:52 left before halftime, Ferrer made a three-pointer to ignite a 15-3 run to close out the quarter with UST only down by two, 33-31.

When play resumed, UST’s Kyle Suarez made a three-pointer to seize the lead from DLSU with barely 30 seconds off the game clock. Thomas Torres and Teng responded with a three-pointer and a basket, respectively, to take a 38-34 lead with 7:58 left in the third quarter. However, Abdul would go to the free throw line to sink both his free throws while Suarez knocked down another three-pointer to give the Growling Tigers a lead they would never relinquish, going on a 13-0 run that would end only after Rivero made one of two free throws. Though the lead would be cut to as low as seven, 49-42, with 3:17 left in the third quarter, three pointers from Louie Vigil, Marvin Lee, and Daquioag allowed UST to hold a 60-46 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Growling Tigers continued to pile on the points in the fourth quarter despite the efforts of Teng and Torres, who combined for nine points in the fourth quarter. UST’s lead never went down to single digits from here on out as Ferrer took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points and making all of his field goals and free throws.

It was a tough day for the Green Archers on the offensive end, since they only made 21 of their 63 field goals. Caracut, who had a career-high 16 points in his last game, scored five in the loss but needed 12 attempts to do so. Torres may have emerged with eight points, seven rebounds, and two assists, but his eight missed field goals stood out as well.

La Salle had to work for every basket they made but couldn’t capitalize on the 29 free throws they attempted, making only 13, which gave them a 44.8 percent mark from behind the free throw line. The Green Archers however kept their turnovers in check, committing only 15 to UST’s 17, but the Growling Tigers had seven steals to DLSU’s two.

The Green Archers will close out the first round of the eliminations with a matchup against their arch-rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles, whom they will face this Sunday, October 4, at 4 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Scores:

UST 77 – Ferrer 17, Abdul 13, Daquioag 11, Vigil 10, Suarez 9, Lee 7, Bonleon 6, Sheriff 4, Lao 0, Subido 0, Huang 0, Garrido 0, Faundo 0, Abdurasad 0, Arana 0

DLSU 61 – Teng 13, Torralba 12, Rivero 10, Torres 8, Caracut 5, Perkins 5, Sargent 4, Muyang 2, Navarro 2, Tratter 0

Quarterscores: 12-18, 31-33, 60-46, 77-61