The DLSU Green Archers crushed the NU Bulldogs in a high-scoring contest earlier today at the Filoil Flying V Centre. La Salle’s intense defense paved the way to a 113-88 win over NU, improving its record to 10 wins and zero defeats.
Ben Mbala tallied 29 points along with 14 rebounds in the winning effort, but committed eight turnovers. Meanwhile, Aljun Melecio drained four three-pointers and finished the game with 18 points on 58 percent shooting from the field. Rev Diputado led NU’s losing effort with 23 points and five assists.
First half
Jeron Teng started early as he scored four out of La Salle’s first eight points. NU led La Salle by eight points, 16-8, 12 of which came from Diputado and Alejandro combined. Alfred Aroga picked up two early fouls which gave La Salle the opportunity to catch up with the Bulldogs. Despite the sluggish start, a put back from Thomas Torres coming from an Mbala miss ignited a seven to nothing run midway through the quarter. La Salle’s took its first lead of the game at the end of the first quarter, 24-23, from a Melecio three-pointer.
The succeeding quarter featured La Salle’s rookies. Another three-pointer from Melecio opened the quarter as Ricci Rivero drained a couple of his own and came into half time perfect from the outside. With the efforts of the two rookies, DLSU sparked a 10-2 scoring run, leading the Bulldogs by as many as 13 points in the second quarter.
NU’s starting point guard, Diputado, made 11 of his 23 points in the second quarter as he trimmed La Salle’s lead to six. However, Mbala started to make his presence felt as he scored a basket in the paint, followed by two free throws. Consecutive baskets from Caracut and Torres triggered a short run late in the quarter extending La Salle’s lead back up to nine. Matthew Salem, who had a bad game for NU with only six points, made a three to keep NU close, 56-49, at the end of the first half.
Second half
The Green Archers were determined to close out the Bulldogs early on. A technical foul was called on coach Eric Altamirano from NU as the Green Archers went on a 12-3 scoring run. Reggie Morido quickly answered by making back-to-back three-point baskets of his own. However, it would not be enough to keep up with the Green-and-White. It would be back and forth for the two teams for the remainder of the quarter, before Montalbo found Mbala with an alley-oop to disturb the silent crowd and put them on their feet. The third quarter ended with La Salle leading NU by 10, 85-75.
Coach Ayo did not settle in the final quarter as he continued to impose his full-court defense against the struggling Bulldogs. La Salle suffocated NU at the fourth quarter as the Green Archers recorded their highest run of the game, scoring 14 unanswered points. Aroga fouled out at the 3:34 mark of the fourth quarter and it was smooth sailing for La Salle all the way until the final buzzer. The Green-and-White scored 113 points, its highest of the season, as the team went on to defeat NU, which notched 88 points in the defeat.
After the game, Mbala commended the Bulldogs, saying, “They really played well, but we stuck to the game plan.”
“Our offense comes from our defense,” coach Paolo Sauler emphasized their full-court pressure as a crucial factor of La Salle’s system. Despite the unscratched record, coach Sauler still believes that there is more to improve on. “Right now we still haven’t achieved anything,”
Up next for the Green Archers will be the UST Growling Tigers on Sunday, October 23, at 2 pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
DLSU- 113 Mbala 29, Melecio 18, Teng 13, Torres 12, Tratter 8, R. Rivero 6, Caracut 5, Montalbo 5, Perkins 4, Baltazar 4, P. Rivero 4, Sargent 2, Go 2, Dyke 1, Paraiso 0
NU- 88 J. Diputado 23, Alejandro 17, Morido 13, Gallego 10, Salem 6, Pate 6, Salim 5, Mosqueda 4, Aroga 2, M. Diputado 2, Abatayo 0, Go 0, Sinclair 0, Rangel 0, Yu 0
