Green Archers breeze past Ateneo in Milcu Got Skills preseason opener

The DLSU Green Archers started their preseason in style after blasting their archrivals, the ADMU Blue Eagles, 85-59, in an early face-off encounter in the Milcu Got Skills Summer Showcase that was held yesterday, April 17, at the Enderun College Gym in Taguig City.

In one of their first games since their disappointing finish in the UAAP last November, the Green Archers came out with a vengeance against their opponents. Under newly installed coach Aldin Ayo, the Taft-based squad fired on all cylinders and constantly pressured the opposing backcourt.

Big man Ben Mbala was a dominant force inside the paint as he finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Aljun Melecio scored 12 points in his seniors team debut after a stellar career with the DLSZ Junior Archers. Kib Montalbo and JBoy Gob added 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round off the double-digit scorers in the DLSU win.

Kris Porter and Jolo Mendoza led the fight for the Blue Eagles, scoring 13 points apiece. Mike Nieto added eight points and 12 rebounds for the depleted Katipunan-based squad, who also lost star-gunners Kiefer Ravena and Von Pessumal to graduation.

The Taft-based squad raced to an early 17-2 lead after Montalbo hit a three-pointer with three minutes left in the first quarter. Ateneo would cut the deficit to six, 17-11, after five straight points from Mendoza. Melecio ended the quarter with a tough drive to the basket to bring the score to 20-11 in favor of La Salle.

DLSU opened the second frame on a 15-5 burst to increase their lead to 19, capped off by a three-pointer from Andrew Langston. Ateneo attempted to come close by taking advantage of their opponent’s penalty situation by getting to the free throw line. However, they were unable to convert many of their free throw attempts, leaving them with a 17-point deficit at the half-time break.

Both squads continuously exchanged baskets in a highly physical third quarter that saw Mbala suffer a cut below the eye after a hard foul from his defender. Porter took advantage of Mbala’s absence by taking over the Blue Eagle offense, scoring 11 of his team’s 19 points in the frame. Despite his exploits, the Green Archers still held a 15-point advantage before the start of the fourth and final quarter.

With the score at 63-49, La Salle went on a crippling 11-0 run that gave them an imposing 25-point lead with less than six minutes left in the game. Mbala and Abu Tratter took turns imposing their will in the paint to answer every point scored by their rivals. Tratter would score the final two points on a putback that put the exclamation point in the one-sided match.

The scores:

DLSU (85) – Mbala 18, Melecio 12, Montalbo 11, Gob 10, Torres 8, Go 7, Teng 5, Langston 5, Tratter 4, Caracut 3, Rivero 2.

ADMU (59) – Porter 13, Mendoza 13, Nieto 8, Wong 6, Asistio 6, Tio 3, Apacible 3, Escaler 3, Hassan 2, Banzon 2.

Quarter scores: 20-11, 42-25, 59-44, 85-59