UAAP: Green Archers down Soaring Falcons, remain unbeaten after five games

In a showdown between the two teams atop the UAAP standings, the DLSU Green Archers overpowered the AdU Soaring Falcons, 91-75, in their game earlier at the Mall of Asia Arena. This was a statement game for La Salle, which asserted its dominance and label as the only undefeated team left.

Coach Aldin Ayo, after the game, said it was all about executing the game plan against AdU. “We knew we were going to play hard on defense, but we had to execute on offense as well.”

La Salle was once again led by Ben Mbala, who scored 21 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and blocked three shots. The Cameroonian, who shot 9 of 11 from the field, is still early in his career, but has turned excellent performances like this into the norm for him.

With this being his fifth straight double-double, Mbala said, “It was all about effort and taking what the defense gives me. My teammates set me up and I just try to do my best.”

In support, four other Green Archers scored in double figures, highlighted by Jeron Teng, who scored 15 points, and Kib Montalbo, who delivered a complete performance, scoring 12 points, hauling in eight rebounds, and dishing out eight assists.

On the Soaring Falcon side, rookie Jerrick Ahanmisi paced the Falcons with 22 points. Papi Sarr did not look intimidated by Mbala as he responded with a double-double of his own, scoring 14 points and getting 14 rebounds.

First half

After Teng immediately scored off the jump ball, three-pointers by Rob Manalang and Ahanmisi gave the Falcons an early 8-4 lead. Mbala, however, was determined to give DLSU the advantage, scoring 10 points, highlighted by a monstrous put-back dunk. On the other side, Ahanmisi, who led AdU with 8 points in the quarter, hit a three-pointer at the 1 minute mark of the period to cut into La Salle’s lead, 22-17.

Just like the first period, Teng began the second quarter with a lay-up. Ahanmisi again, though, continued to respond for the Falcons. Leading by only two points at the 7:24 mark, DLSU ramped up its defensive intensity holding Adamson to without a field goal in the final 5:15 of the quarter. Aljun Melecio, Kib Montalbo, and Ricci Rivero all came off the bench and provided energy and offense in their minutes on the floor. Teng scored six points to complement Mbala, who already had a double-double. Luckily for the Falcons, they were able to convert 10 of their 12 free throw attempts to keep the game within reach at 49-34.

Second half

Though La Salle started the quarter on a 4-0 run, Adamson continued to fight back. JD Tungcab and Ron Manalang combined to lead an 8-2 Falcon run to cut the La Salle lead to 57-44.

Both teams ramped up their defensive pressure as full court pressure was applied on both sides. As an Ahanmisi three-pointer cut the lead to 11, Melecio scored five of his 13 points in the final minute of the quarter to give the Green Archers breathing room. ADU, however, did outscore the Taft-based squad, 18-15, in the quarter.

To begin the fourth quarter, Manalang hit his fifth three-pointer right away to put the pressure on the Green-and-White to answer back. With Mbala on the bench with four fouls, the pressure shifted to the rest of the team to respond. Justine Baltazar, who assumed the center position in his absence, did a decent job and had a final line of seven points and nine offensive rebounds.

Along with Melecio and Rivero, the Green-and-White again got good production out of its rookies. Even Ayo had to admit he was a bit surprised after the game. “With them being rookies, [I know] they will make mistakes but I trust them to make plays.” ADU went on a 7-0 run, but it was too little, too late for the Falcons. Teng’s nine points and Montalbo’s two contested three-pointers late in the quarter gave La Salle enough separation to get the victory.

Montalbo, when asked about the tough shots DLSU made, just said it was all about “making the shots over and over again in practice.”

The Falcons, as expected, outshot DLSU from distance, but the Green Archers just dominated them in the paint, outscoring them 46-18 in the shaded area. In this game, it was actually Adamson that forced more turnovers than La Salle, who leads the league in the statistic. Almost equal in starter points, it was the Green Archer bench that gave the team the advantage it needed, 36-21.

Though former coach Franz Pumaren really wanted the victory, it was DLSU that got the better off its former mentor.

Ayo emphasized that it was a team effort on both ends that got them the team its fifth victory in a row. Though undefeated, the coach reminded the team to not get complacent even with their early success. “Kahit wala pang panalo yung UE, kailangan pa rin namin mag-execute. Pumaren-coached team pa rin iyan.”

The Green Archers are back in action Wednesday, September 28, when they face the UE Red Warriors.

The Scores:

DLSU 91- Mbala 21, Teng 15, Melecio 13, Montalbo 12, Torres 11, Baltazar 7, Tratter 6, Go 2, Sargent 2, Ri Rivero 2, Caracut 0

ADU 75- Ahanmisi 22, Manalang 15, Sarr 14, Pasturan 9, Manganti 6, Tungcab 5, Espeleta 2, Ochea 1, Mustre 1, Ng 0, Bernardo 0, Chua 0, Camacho 0

Quarter Scores: 22-17, 49-34, 66-52, 91-75