The DLSU Green Archers fought their way past the NU Bulldogs, 83-82, earlier today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to gain their first win of the season. The Green-and-White now sport a 1-1 win-loss record, while the NU squad still remains winless.
Justine Baltazar led the Taft-based squad, showing his dominance on both sides of the court with 23 points and 10 rebounds to his name. Jamie Malonzo was the second-highest scorer with a tally of 14 points, along with a team-high 11 rebounds.
In the losing effort, Shaun Ildefonso recorded 26 points and five steals for the Bulldogs. Additionally, John Lloyd Clemente and Jv Gallego also contributed 19 points and 12 points, respectively.
An unshakeable lead
Determined to make a comeback from their loss to the ADMU Blue Eagles last September 8, the Green Archers came into the game as a quicker team. Aljun Melecio converted a three-point shot from the wing to open the scoring for DLSU less than a minute into the first quarter. With their run and gun style of play, the Green-and-White quickly took charge of the game. At the 8:43 mark, Baltazar converted a layup, which sparked a 9-2 run for the Taft-based squad, giving them a lead of 10 points, 12-2.
Halfway into the first quarter, Bulldog Issa Gaye went two-for-two at the free throw line to break the Green Archers’ run. Baltazar answered with back-to-back shots—a three-pointer off an Andrei Caracut assist, followed by a midrange jumper—to defend his team’s lead, 19-6. The Blue-and-Gold gained strength with just over three minutes left in the quarter, as Dave Ildefonso and Gaye made successive shots to bring the deficit down to nine points, 19-10. Clemente closed the first quarter with a layup to end with a scoreline of 22-12, in favor of DLSU.
The NU squad strove to bring down the Green Archers’ lead early into the second quarter. At the 9:43 mark, S. Ildefonso converted a three-pointer, which was immediately followed by a layup by Rj Minerva. The Bulldogs’ sudden defensive resurge stunned the DLSU squad. Bulldog Enzo Joson was able to convert a layup off a rebound, which was followed by a fast break shot by Clemene off a steal. This cut down the deficit to three points, 24-21. The Green-and-White fought back to maintain their lead, however, with efforts from Joel Cagulangan and Baltazar.
The Bulldogs looked to Clemente, as he led his team’s efforts in answering the Green Archer’s play. With 3:44 left in the second quarter, Clemente converted a three-point shot at the wing to bring the score to 32-28, still in favor of DLSU. Toward the end of the period, the Green Archers’ determination gave rise to a stronger play as they continuously converted their shots—all while keeping the Blue-and-Gold at bay. With three minutes remaining, Baltazar went on to convert back-to-back shots to push his team’s lead to 12 points, 40-28. Clemente came back for the Bulldogs with a shot off a Chino Mosqueda assist in hopes of closing the gap. Gaye finished the quarter going two-for-two at the charity line to end the first half with a score of 42-32.
Holding off the charge
Looking to cement their first win of the season, the Green Archers hoped to continue off a strong first half showing, but the Bulldogs were not out for the count yet. NU opened the scoring in the third quarter at the 9:35 mark off a Clemente three-pointer. Caracut hit back for the Green Archers by making a tough layup shot to keep his team ahead, 44-35. The game carried on as a back-and-forth affair.
Malonzo, who was quiet on offense during the first half, finally got his first points from the stripe. He went one for two after being fouled hard in the paint early in the third. The Green-and-White went on a 9-0 run, led by Melecio, to extend their lead to 13 points with 5:19 left in the quarter. Malonzo was in his groove the rest of the period as he continued to convert his pull-up jumpers from beyond the arc.
Gallego gave the Bulldogs a run of their own, scoring seven unanswered points to go into the fourth quarter within striking distance. The score was 67-55 after 30 minutes of action with DLSU still in the lead.
The Green Archers opened the scoring in the fourth period through Encho Serrano, who drove down the baseline to finish with a layup. Gallego continued his strong play in the third period with a basket from beyond the arc with 9:19 left in the game. The play sparked a 7-2 run for the Blue-and-Gold as they were gunning for a comeback.
The squad from Taft answered with their own run as they exploited the paint. Six straight unanswered points meant La Salle was leading by 13 points, 77-64, with 6:28 to go before the buzzer, but an air of uncertainty filled the arena as the Bulldogs were still unwilling to back down.
The inexperience of the young Green Archers showed, as the ball handlers would get trapped on the top of the key by an NU double team every time they would run the ball down the floor. The Green Archers could not cope with the relentless pursuit from the Bulldogs, who tried to minimize the gap between their scores.
S. Ildefonso and Gallego caught heat as La Salle’s turnovers meant easy baskets for the Bulldogs. The pair scored back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to put pressure on the Green-and-White, whose lead was cut down to five points with 2:02 left in the game. The Bulldogs did not let up, as they continued to score off turnovers. With 28 seconds to go, S. Ildefonso hit a three from the wing to give his team their first lead of the game, 82-81. The Green Archers needed an answer, and like a hero swooping in at the last moment, Kurt Lojera rose up from mid-range and buried his jumper to give La Salle a one-point lead, 83-82, with 14 seconds left in the game.
With 14 seconds left to try and give their valiant effort a happy ending, the Bulldogs advanced the ball with a timeout. However, they were unable to convert as S. Ildefonso missed his three-point attempt, allowing the team from Taft to escape with their first victory of the season. However, questions over a possible kickball violation arose. After a few minutes of reviewing the play, the officials determined that no further action was needed.
Head coach Gian Nazario shared his thoughts on the final minutes of the game, “When a team like that rattles you a lot, familiarity would always be the advantage. Yun yung hahanapin niyo, yung familiarity sa isa’t isa. And it showed in the last quarter; we were rattled. Good thing we were able to push through.” When the Bulldogs started catching up, Nazario emphasized the importance of staying calm and to focus on their own plays. These were paramount to the Green Archers’ victory today.
(That’s what you look for, that familiarity with one another.)
After narrowly escaping the Bulldogs’ rally, the Green Archers saw positives in their performance.
Sharing his thoughts on the win, Baltazar said after the game, “Pinagpaguran kasi namin ito, siguro blessing talaga ito sa amin. Tsaka kailangan namin mag step up kasi galing kami sa talo. Maganda pinakita namin dito.”
(We worked hard for this, I guess this really is a blessing for the team. We needed to step up in this game because we came from a loss. This was a nice showing for us.)
The DLSU Green Archers will be looking to start a winning streak in their match against the UE Red Warriors on Saturday, September 14, at 2 pm at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The scores:
DLSU 83 – Baltazar 23, Malonzo 14, Melecio 10, Caracut 7, Lojera 6, Meeker 6, Serrano 6, Bates 4, Pado 4, Cagulangan 3
NU 82 – S. Ildefonso 26, Clemente 19, Gallego 12, Gaye 11, D. Ildefonso 8, Joson 2, Minerva 2, Mosqueda 2
Quarter scores:
22-12, 42-32, 67-57, 83-82
