The DLSU Green Archers dealt the UST Growling Tigers another loss as the defending champions successfully bounced back after suffering their first loss last week, against the UP Fighting Maroons. The 115-86 win by La Salle over UST at the Smart Araneta Coliseum earlier today has given the Taft-based squad a 4-1 record heading into its last two games of the first round.
Ben Mbala led all players in scoring with 29 points to go along with nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks. This halted Mbala’s double-double streak to two games, but after the game, he says that it’s all about the team first. “I’m not here to look for double-doubles, I’m just here to help the team win.”
Andrei Caracut, Santi Santillian, and Prince Rivero scored 14, 13, and 11 points, respectively, to help Mbala in the offensive attack. Meanwhile, Wendell De Guzman top-scored for UST with 18 points and four assists.
Dominating first half
Mbala started the scoring spree for the Green-and-White with a free throw 20 seconds into the game. Santillian, who grabbed three offensive rebounds in the half, and Jordan Sta Ana took turns in scoring the basketball with the former knocking down two three-pointers to give La Salle a 7-5 lead at the 7:27 mark of the first quarter.
The defending champions then unleashed a 10-0 run, highlighted by an outstanding ball fake by Ramil Tero, who made his UAAP debut, en route to an easy lay-up, to balloon their lead to 12. Jojo Macasaet, Steve Akomo, and De Guzman combined to cut the deficit to single digits but the Green Archers scored eight straight unanswered points, with Gabe Capacio starting the run with a three-pointer to erect a 14-point lead. Jollo Go knocked down his only three-pointer of the game with 37 seconds left in the quarter but Zach Huang was able to hit a floater to end the quarter, 30-21, in favor of DLSU.
The scoring in the second quarter began again with Mbala scoring at the free throw line. The reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player then made a rim-rattling dunk at the 7:51 mark of the quarter to push the lead to 17 points. The Green Archers further extended their lead to 21 points after Justine Baltazar converted a reverse lay-up after receiving a sublime no-look pass from Caracut. A minute before the half ended, Caracut was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul on Marvin Lee that gave the Growling Tigers an opportunity to cut the deficit, making it 60-42 at halftime.
The Lasallians played the first half with a great sense of urgency as they came out strong early on with tenacious defense, perfectly executing head coach Aldin Ayo’s “Mayhem” system. The Green Archers forced the Growling Tigers to 16 turnovers and converted nine second chance points. The starters for La Salle almost outscored the entire UST team in the first half by scoring 40 points.
Strong finish
In what was a dominating first half, the Growling Tigers consistently tried to claw their way back. This did not change in the second half as both teams continued to answer basket after basket in the first five minutes of the third quarter. UST had several chances due to infractions by DLSU but failed to capitalize, especially from the charity stripe. The team from Espana only made 12 of their 26 free throws and shot only 45 percent from the field.
UST managed to cut the lead to 16 midway through the quarter after a basket by Jeepy Faundo inside the paint. However, the DLSU lead continued to balloon from then on as the Lasallians sustained their momentum despite UST’s relentless effort. La Salle’s purge was highlighted by an alley-oop from Ramil Tero to Mbala at the 2:55 mark to push the lead back to 18. A 7-0 run from the collective efforts of Abu Tratter, P. Rivero, and Gabe Capacio further stretched the lead as they ended the third quarter with an 85-63 advantage.
La Salle had efficient ball movement leading to the team having 26 assists compared to only 18 from the opposition. “We played unselfish basketball,” said assistant coach Miggy Solitaria after the game.
Head coach Aldin Ayo utilized his whole bench which resulted to an equal distribution of points. The bench had their fair share of 49 points along with the starters’ 66. Solitaria also commended the performance of his rookies who provided quality minutes off the bench. “They showed na talagang karapat-dapat silang maglaro and we decided, we would maximize all the players and mahaba-haba pa yung tournament and we need some players to get rested.”
Defense also proved to be a vital aspect in the lopsided win, with Montalbo leading the game with five steals. The Green-and-White also forced 35 turnovers and converted 37 points out of the Growling Tigers’ errors, through their persistent pressure defense.
La Salle will look to continue their winning ways as it will face-off against the UE Red Warriors on Wednesday, 4 pm, at the same venue.
The scores:
DLSU 115- Mbala 29, Caracut 14, Santillian 13, P. Rivero 11, Montalbo 8, Tratter 8, Go 7, Capacio 7, R. Rivero 7, Tero 5, Baltazar 4, Paraiso 2, Gonzales 0
UST 86- De Guzman 18, Akomo 15, Sta Ana 14, Macasaet 8, Lee 8, Faundo 8, Romero 4, Kwawukumey 4, Escalambre 2, Huang 2, Caunan 2, Arana 1, Garcia 0, Lorenzana 0, Soriano 0
Quarter scores: 30-21, 60-42, 85-63, 115-86
