Despite entering the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead, the DLSU Green Archers could not hold off the Adamson Soaring Falcons, who came back from being down by as many as 16 points to come away with a 75-74 victory yesterday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Green Archers pounded the ball inside for most of the game but settled for jumpers as the Soaring Falcons scored 27 points while limiting DLSU to only 15 in the final period. Prince Rivero played the game of his life, finishing with 23 points, 11 of which came in during DLSU’s big third quarter run. Papi Sarr led Adamson with 23 points and a game-high 14 rebounds while also making the crucial free throws that handed the Soaring Falcons the victory.
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Trading baskets, changing leads
In the first quarter, La Salle could not distance themselves from Adamson, as both teams traded baskets and the share of the lead throughout the quarter. Jeron Teng helped keep the Green Archers at pace with the Soaring Falcons through mid-range jumpshots and timely passes to Rivero. Their chemistry was key in the opening frame, as a Rivero layup off a Teng assist gave DLSU a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A three-point play from Andrew Langston extended DLSU’s lead to six, 22-16, moments into the second quarter. However, Adamson wouldn’t back down as Sarr and rest of the Soaring Falcons kept the game close, tying the game at 24 with six minutes left before halftime. Langston continued to make his presence felt in the game as he disrupted passing lanes and completed fastbreak layups to keep La Salle ahead throughout the second quarter. Though the Green Archers still couldn’t shake off AdU, Teng continued to keep La Salle ahead through his trips to the free throw line. At the end of the second quarter, the Green Archers held a slim 37-34 lead over Adamson with Teng leading all scorers with 15 points.
Adamson scored the opening basket of the second half but Rivero and Teng attacked the AdU defense to slowly extend La Salle’s lead. Rivero’s energy was relentless as he pounded the ball inside despite matching up against Sarr and Ivan Villanueva while Larry Muyang brought DLSU’s lead to double-digits, 48-37, off a Rivero miss. Everything was going for the Green Archers at this point as Andrei Caracut made La Salle’s first three-pointer with 4:28 left in the third quarter to give the Green Archers their largest lead of the game, 57-41. By the end of the quarter, Rivero led all scorers with 20 points and the Green Archers held a sizeable 59-48 lead entering the fourth quarter.
End-game meltdown
The early minutes of the fourth quarter saw La Salle and AdU trade baskets with one another but Nalos sparked an Adamson run that cut the DLSU lead to single digits, 65-56 with less than seven minutes left in the game. The Soaring Falcons would then go on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to a single point, 65-64, with 5:23 left in the game after Sarr and Nalos scored on consecutive baskets.
Adu limited La Salle to only six points in the first five minutes of the last quarter, with Nalos eventually tying the game at 68 with 3:37 left in the quarter. Torres knocked down a three-pointer only to see Adamson respond with a three-pointer of their own. The game remained tied until the last minute, when Sarr made two free throws to give the Soaring Falcons a 75-73 lead with 15 seconds left on the game clock. Teng drove to the basket on the next possession and Rivero was fouled as he was going for a putback with eight seconds left in the game. He split his free throws but the Green Archers regained possession after a double lane violation. La Salle inbounded the ball but Caracut couldn’t hold on to the ball as time expired and the Falcons walked away with a 75-74 victory.
Jeron Teng was the only other Green Archer in double figures, finishing with an all-around performance of 22 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, but he missed 14 of his 22 shot attempts. Langston played quality minutes for the Green Archers in this game as he finished with eight points while making 50 percent of his attempts from the field. Torres and Caracut had a nightmare of a game after missing a combined 18 of their 21 shot attempts.
Joseph Nalos came back from his suspension to finish with 20 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Jerome Garcia was the only other double-digit scorer for Adamson as he finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Up next for the Green Archers are the defending champions, the NU Bulldogs, whom they will face this Wednesday, October 28, at 4 pm in the Mall of Asia Arena.
The scores:
Adamson 75 – Sarr 23, Nalos 20, J. Garcia 13, Capote 6, Fernandez 5, Polican 2, Bernardo 2, C. Garcia 2, Villanueva 2, Ochea 0, Tungcab 0, Camacho 0, Escalambre 0, Miranda 0
DLSU 74 – Rivero 23, Teng 22, Langston 8, Torres 7, Torralba 4, Caracut 3, Perkins 3, Muyang 3, Tratter 1, Go 0, Sargent 0
Quarterscores: 16-19, 34-37, 48-59, 75-74
