The DLSU Green Archers were unable to extend their winning streak to four games after they were defeated by the UP Fighting Maroons, 98-87, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
La Salle was not able to keep up with the hot shooting of UP, which was highlighted by 16 three-point shots from the Maroons. Paul Desiderio and Jun Manzo scored 30 and 17 points, respectively, for UP while Ben Mbala led DLSU with 34 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Back-and-forth first half
In the first five minutes of play, La Salle quickly attained a six-point lead over the Fighting Maroons. Mbala continued to display his offensive prowess with 21 points in the first half alone, with the reigning MVP draining four three-point field goals in just the first quarter. However, the team from Katipunan responded with three-point baskets from Javi and Juan Gomez De Liano, as well as Jarrell Lim, during the latter part of the first quarter. The Lasallians held a nine-point lead after Lim’s field goal.
UP continued to push the pace until it finally caught up with La Salle at the 4:58 mark of the second quarter, courtesy of Desiderio’s four-point play to tie the game at 35. The veteran Fighting Maroon and Ricci Rivero would then trade three point-baskets but the older Gomez De Liano sibling drilled his second field goal behind the arc to give the lead to UP. At the half, the Green Archers trailed the Fighting Maroons, 47-43.
Stiff second half
The third quarter opened with a three-pointer from Andrei Caracut, who had 15 points and three assists in the losing effort. The junior along with Ricci Rivero, were the only ones who ended up scoring in double digits in support of Mbala’s new career high of 34 points. Both teams continued to stay aggressive, making basket after basket. La Salle trailed UP at the end of the third quarter, but the Lasallians managed to reduce the deficit to one, 65- 66.
DLSU needed to catch some breaks heading into the final frame to steal the win from UP. Unfortunately, the Fighting Maroons were on fire from behind the arc in the fourth quarter and were determined to shut La Salle down for good. UP’s Felix Jaboneta and Lim drained three straight three-point baskets to answer La Salle’s gutsy effort, which extended the their lead to seven midway through crunch time.
Although Montalbo and Mbala made a three-pointer and a post-up move, respectively, it was the Cebuano-native, Jun Manzo, who finally destroyed any hopes of a La Salle comeback. Manzo completed a spin-move layup on Caracut followed by a three-point field goal make, despite being immensely pressured by the defense. The rookie raised the lead to nine with just three minutes left of playing time. The Green-and-White tried its best to fight back, though, time was just not on their side.
In their first loss, La Salle shot nearly 40 percent from the field despite nearly tying UP in assists and rebounds as well as turning the ball over less. Although Mbala achieved another milestone of beating his career-high in points, it was not enough to close out the persistent Fighting Maroons.
UP’s guard play proved too much for the DLSU defense to handle as each of the Fighting Maroons were able to penetrate into the paint at ease. Aljun Melecio also had his second straight subpar game, scoring just five points, on two of 12 shooting.
The Green Archers will try to bounce back as they face the UST Growling Tigers on September 30, 2 pm, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The scores:
DLSU 87 – Mbala 34, Caracut 15, R. Rivero 12, P. Rivero 9, Melecio 5, Montalbo 5, Santillan 5, Paraiso 2, Tratter 0, Go 0
UP 98 – Desiderio 30, Manzo 17, Ju. Gomez de Liano 10, Ja. Gomez de Liano 10, Lim 6, Ouattara 6, Jaboneta 6, Dario 5, Romero 4, Ricafort 2, Prado 2, Harris 0, Vito 0, Lao 0
Quarter scores:
27-18, 43-47, 65-66, 87-98
