Earlier today, the DLSU Green Archers outlasted the NU Bulldogs, 84-77, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Green-and-White notched their eighth win of the season, while the NU Bulldogs were handed their ninth loss.
Leonard Santillan led La Salle’s offense, as he posted 18 points and five rebounds, followed by Andrei Caracut and Aljun Melecio, who chipped in 13 points each. Justine Baltazar and Joaqui Manuel also scored in double-digits, tallying 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Coach Louie Gonzales reminded his team before heading into today’s game about its importance in securing a spot at the Final Four round, “Going into this game…I told them that if we get this, we will be in a better spot, and if we fail on this one, we will be [placed] in a difficult spot.”
In the losing effort, rookie Dave Ildefonso recorded 20 points, followed by John Lloyd Clemente, who tallied 19 points for the Bulldogs.
Back-and-forth affair
The first quarter of the matchup started off with both teams trading baskets. However, at the 7:13 mark, a three-pointer from Joaqui Manuel launched the Green Archers into a 9-0 run, which was capped off with a layup off a steal by Melecio at the 4:28 mark.
The NU Bulldogs were unfazed, as they responded with a 10-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from the duo of Clemente and JV Gallego at the 2:13 and 1:31 marks, respectively. With 28 seconds left on the clock, Mark Dyke scored from underneath, allowing the Taft-based squad to close the first frame with a four-point lead, 17-13.
At the start of the second quarter, Dyke displayed his aggressiveness, as he scored back-to-back two-pointers. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs were able to respond quickly, scoring three straight field goals through the efforts of Michael Malonzo, Troy Rike, and Gallego, which narrowed the Green Archers’ lead to two points.
At the 5:36 mark of the quarter, Brandon Bates was called for a technical foul for flopping, with Dave Wilson Yu converting the technical free-throw. 13 seconds afterwards, Andrei Caracut was called for the same offense, with Yu again making the technical free-throw, denying the Green Archers from pulling away. Clemente then scored a three-pointer at the 5:16 mark, which started his scoring run. After Jollo Go countered with a three-pointer of his own, Clemente went on to score three consecutive field goals, allowing the Bulldogs to close the first half leading, 38-40.
At the half, the NU Bulldogs posted 35 bench points, compared to the DLSU Green Archers’ 20. Both teams recorded the same number of turnovers, but it was the Bulldogs who were able to capitalize, as they scored five points off turnovers, as the Green Archers’ scored none.
Finishing strong
It was Clemente who led the Bulldogs at the first half, but it was D. Ildefonso who carried NU at the third quarter. He was able to keep his team afloat despite the rigorous plays that the Green Archers had at the quarter.
Ending the second quarter behind the Bulldogs, the Green-and-White gained their lost momentum as Melecio and Santillian became the integral players that placed DLSU on top at the end of the third quarter. D. Ildefonso unfortunately did not make it easy as he continuously provided baskets from the three-point line to keep the gap between the two teams small. Despite D. Ildefonso and Santillian trading baskets at the last minute, it was the team from Taft who rose up at the end as the quarter finished with DLSU leading at 65-62.
La Salle also started the fourth quarter strong with important baskets coming from Melecio to widen the deficit by five points. The Bulldogs, however, continued to fight as D. Ildefonso and Yu contributed shots from the charity stripe, and from the three-point line.
The Taft-based squad did not let NU score any more points at the latter half of the quarter as they went on a 9-0 run to give the Green Archers their eighth win in the season, improving to an 8-4 win-loss record.
Awarded player of the game, Santillian was seen crying at the end of the game. When asked why, he attributed it to how much he dedicated this game to his family, “Nung last practice kasi, nagtanong si coach sa amin kung kanino daw i-de-dedicate yung season na to’? Tapos pagkatapos ng practice, umuwi ako at talagang umiyak talaga ako kasi dine–dedicate ko to’ sa family ko kasi sobrang miss ko na sila.“
(During the last practice, Coach asked us who do we dedicate this season to? After practice, I went home and I really cried because I dedicate this to my family because I miss them so much.)
The Green Archers will face their archrivals, the ADMU Blue Eagles on Sunday, November 11 at 4 pm at the same venue. “This is a big test for us because we want to know how far na kami after that blow-out loss,” stated Gonzales during the press conference in regard to the anticipated match up of the round.
The scores:
DLSU 84 – Santillan 18, Caracut 13, Melecio 13, Baltazar 11, Manuel 10, Dyke 6, Go 6, Bates 4, Serrano 3, Capacio 0, Corteza 0
NU 77 – D. Ildefonso 20, Clemente 19, Gallego 7, Yu 7, S. Ildefonso 5, Gaye 4, Joson 4, Rike 4, Sinclair 3, Diputado 2, Malonzo 2, Aquino 0, Galinato 0, Morido 0, Salim 0
Quarter scores: 17-13, 38-40, 65-62, 84-77
