After opening the second round of eliminations with a 79-59 triumph over the UE Red Warriors, the DLSU Green Archers were sent back in the losing column by the AdU Soaring Falcons earlier today, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Lasallians’ 57-50 defeat to the Soaring Falcons will bring their Season 81 record down to a 5-4 slate, while Adamson moves up with six wins and two losses.
Sean Manganti from the Soaring Falcons led all scorers with 19 points after making seven out of 14 field goal attempts. The third-year forward also grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out four assists, and collected two steals in 33 minutes of play for Adamson. Papi Sarr also got a double-double as he recorded 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Aljun Melecio had 18 points and eight rebounds, but his efforts were not enough to overcome the determined Soaring Falcons. Encho Serrano was the only other Lasallian with double digit points as he scored 10 off the bench.
Since the second round kicked off, Serrano has been stepping up for the Green Archers, making an effort to work for his team and for Coach Louie Gonzalez. “Binibigyan niya lang ako ng kumpiyansa kasi may tiwala sa akin si coach. ‘Di ko din sinasayang yung tiwala na binibigay niya sa akin, kapag nasa loob ako ginagawa ko yung best ko,” said Serrano.
(He gives me confidence, because coach trusts me. I don’t waste the trust he gives me, when I’m on the court, I do my best.)
Low-scoring affair
The Taft-based squad struggled in the first 10 minutes of the game as they were held to only two points, courtesy of Joaqui Manuel’s free throws at the 7:09 mark. The full-court press of the Soaring Falcons was the key as their length and athleticism made it difficult for the Green Archers to score and set up their offensive sets.
With the defense clicking for Adamson, they quickly raced to a 9-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Kokoy Pingoy converted a three-pointer while Manganti and Vince Magbuhos combined for three easy layups to complete the scoring output of the Soaring Falcons.
Manganti opened the second period with a layup and a dunk to extend Adamson’s lead to 11, 13-2, at the 9:03 mark. Justine Baltazar and Mark Dyke answered back with a layup and a put-back respectively, but Simon Camacho’s high-low post play with Sarr momentarily stopped the momentum of the Taft-based squad.
An under-the-basket field goal conversion by Sarr and a pull-up three-pointer by Jerrick Ahanmisi brought back Adamson’s lead to double digits, 20-8, with over five minutes remaining in the quarter. The Soaring Falcons were threatening to run away with a lopsided win early on but Melecio kept the Green Archers afloat with 10 points in the second quarter to cut the deficit down to seven, 28-21, heading into halftime.
The defense of the Soaring Falcons were scintillating in the first half as they limited the Green Archers to an 8 out of 35 field goal shooting and forced them to turn the ball over 10 times.
Back and forth second half
After the Green Archers started the game shooting poorly, the Archers looked to get out of their shooting slump in the second half. Brandon Bates started the second half strong defensively, as he racked up two early blocks for La Salle. Baltazar made a hook shot at the 7:27 mark but it was quickly countered with a Jerrick Ahanmisi three-pointer. Both teams traded baskets all throughout the third, as the quarter ended at 41-35. Despite unsuccessful baskets, it was the Archers’ defensive efforts that kept the game close.
The fourth quarter started with both teams yet again trading baskets. Moreover, at the 6:41 mark of the fourth quarter, La Salle finally made their first three-point shot of the game, courtesy of Melecio. After this, both teams, who started the game shooting poorly, traded three point baskets. At the last two minute mark, the Archers were able to execute a 5-0 run but late baskets from Sarr and Manganti halted their momentum. Things started to get chippy late in the game, as the pair of Pingoy and Serrano were both given technical fouls for trash talking. La Salle ultimately fell to Adamson, 57-50.
“Sa huli naasar lang ako kasi wala naman akong ginawang masama,” said Serrano when he talked about being called out for a technical foul alongside Pingoy.
(In the end, I just got irritated because I didn’t do anything bad.)
After the game, Gonzalez didn’t take the loss to heart and immediately shifted his sights to their upcoming game, “Paglabas dito sa dugout naka-focus na kami sa FEU game, our goal is excellence. I know this is a setback, we will learn from this, we will watch it again, laban pa rin.”
The Green-and-White will look to bounce back as they take on the FEU Tamaraws on October 27, Saturday, 4pm, at the same venue.
The scores:
DLSU 50 – Melecio 18, Serrano 10, Baltazar 6, Santillan 5, Montalbo 4, Dyke 4, Manuel 2, Caracut 1, Bates 0, Samuel 0, Corteza 0, Go 0, Capacio 0
AdU 57 – Manganti 19, Sarr 12, Ahanmisi 9, Pingoy 6, Camacho 4, Lastimosa 3, Magbuhos 2, Zaldivar 2, Catapusan 0, Mojica 0, Espeleta 0, Bernardo 0
Quarter scores: 2-9, 21-28, 35-41, 50-57
