The DLSU Green Archers ended their UAAP Season 82 campaign with a dominant 89-63 win over the AdU Soaring Falcons at the Mall of Asia Arena.
In his farewell game for the Green-and-White, Jamie Malonzo had arguably the best individual performance this season, leading the way with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and an impeccable 7-for-12 shooting from three-point distance. Justine Baltazar tallied his usual double-double numbers with 14 markers and 13 caroms. Team captain Andrei Caracut bounced back from his lackluster outing against UP, contributing 14 points and six dishes. Aljun Melecio had a rare scoreless afternoon for the Archers, but guards Jordan Bartlett and Encho Serrano chipped in seven points apiece.
Active consultant Jermaine Byrd later shared regarding the team’s decisive victory, “We didn’t reach the goal [of reaching the Final Four], but I’m happy we sent our seniors out the right way.” These sentiments were echoed by Malonzo, “I’m just glad we got the win for our captain—that was the most important part of today for our team.”
In the losing effort, AP Manlapaz and Jerom Lastimosa were the only two Falcons to have decent offensive numbers, scoring 15 and 10 points, respectively. Adamson’s starting unit of Val Chauca, Jerick Ahanmisi, Joshua Yero, Kristian Bernardo, and Lenda Douanga recorded a meager total of 17 points.
Blistering start
The insertion of Brandon Bates to the starting lineup reaped its rewards right away as the DLSU Green Archers raced to an early 13-0 lead. Playing the final game of their UAAP careers, Malonzo and Caracut led the quick spurt with eight and five points, respectively. Adamson coach Franz Pumaren was forced to call an early timeout to identify the right combinations to counter the explosive showing of the Green Archers.
Lastimosa answered the call, converting on back-to-back long range bombs to cut La Salle’s lead down to 10 points, 16-6. Adamson was able to slow the game down, limiting the Green-and-White to just 12 points in the last seven minutes of the quarter. Off the bench, Encho Serrano was able to stop the bleeding with a three-pointer, as the first period ended at 25-12 in favor of the Taft-based squad.
Byrd and head coach Gian Nazerio were focused on utilizing their bench, giving meaningful minutes to players like James Laput and Kurt Lojera. DLSU’s offense slowed down a bit when the second unit entered the ball game, but the defense remained tough and relentless, limiting Adamson to just 12 points in the opening 10 minutes. Lastimosa and Manlapaz were the only two players that provided offense for Soaring Falcons in the opening salvo.
The bench of DLSU had been struggling all season, but in this game, they were able to maintain the lead at the start of the second period. AdU’s Edward Mojica started with a steal and an easy layup conversion on the other end, but a Tyrus Hill free throw and a Malonzo putback maintained the Green Archers’ lead at 28-14.
Bartlett also contributed on the offensive end with an and-one bucket plus a left wing shot from beyond the arc, extending the lead to 36-17. Chauca was the first Adamson starter to score points, cutting the lead down to 17 at the 5:40 mark of the second frame. The Soaring Falcons were able to reduce the lead to as low as 13 points on a short stab by Lenda Douanga, 36-23.
In response, Byrd and Nazario decided to bring back their first unit led by Caracut, who halted AdU’s run with a turnaround jumper. The Taft-based squad continued building on their double-digit lead by slowly setting up their plays and executing stifling defense on Soaring Falcons Douanga and Ahanmisi.
Baltazar upped his scoring total with a three-pointer off a pick-and-pop assist by Malonzo with two minutes left in the first half. Ahanmisi finally emerged from his shooting slump, making an easy layup with the clock down to 1:40. Entering the halftime break, Caracut made sure to have the momentum as seen by his signature one-hander at the buzzer off the dish from Melecio.
In control
The Soaring Falcons began the second half looking to keep up with the Green-and-White as Manlapaz and Simon Camacho converted buckets after a Baltazar putback and Malonzo three-pointer, 55-33.
Malonzo restored the confidence in his side, however, responding to Adamson’s attempts at a fightback by with another three-pointer followed by a slam dunk, 60-33, at the 7:58 mark of the third frame. At this point, Malonzo and Caracut had combined for 36 points, outscoring the entire AdU squad.
Both sides then went on a series of empty possessions, unable to find the bottom of the net until close to the halfway mark of the third quarter, as Baltazar broke the scoreless spell with 4:33 left to play in the period. Capping off DLSU’s running total of seven unanswered points from earlier in the quarter, Baltazar executed his signature spin and hook shot to further boost his team’s advantage, 62-33.
Even with the Falcons finding buckets toward the end of the period, the team from Taft looked unfazed, ensuring that the opposing side could not pose any convincing threat at mounting a comeback. Holding AdU to just 11 points in the third quarter, the Green Archers had built themselves a comfortable 28-point cushion, 68-40, heading into the final period of play.
The Green-and-White continued outperforming their opponents, getting the ball out quickly in transition, claiming boards, and finding key passes. This was emphasized by, among several other plays, Laput rebounding and tossing the ball to a waiting Bartlett at the other side of the court, enabling an easy layup finish at the 8:18 mark of the fourth quarter, 71-47.
With 5:29 left in the game, AdU’s top-scorer Manlapaz continued to be the bright spot for his side, pulling up for a fadeaway to bring the scoreline to 71-49, still very much in the Archers’ favor. On the other end, Baltazar’s jumper came up short, but Malonzo was quickest to respond and scored on La Salle’s second-chance possession, 78-51, with 5:13 remaining in the period.
A highlight reel unfolded for both squads as five three-pointers were converted in quick succession. It began with Melecio finding an open Francis Escandor to sink a three-point shot from the elbow, which was then answered by a Manlapaz three-pointer at the 3:06 mark of the quarter. Escandor provided the assist in the subsequent play as he handed the ball to Malonzo, who scored again from beyond the arc. After Keith Zaldivar shot a three-pointer of his own, DLSU skipper Caracut capped off his UAAP career by finding his three-point shot from the top of the key to earn his team a 28-point advantage, 87-59, as he made his exit.
As the two-minute mark sounded, Melecio, Caracut, and Malonzo retired to the benches, the latter two having played their last game for the Green-and-White. After a season-deciding loss in the previous matchup against the UP Fighting Maroons, the DLSU Green Archers were able to produce an emphatic victory to even their win-loss card to 7-7, coming in at fifth place in the standings.
With 89-63 as the final scoreline, as well as significant minutes played by the team’s younger members, the Taft-based squad displayed a performance that can perhaps offer the La Salle faithful a result spelling positive hopes already of the years to come.
Citing being able to “play through adversity” as the team’s biggest takeaway for the season, head coach Nazario reflected on their UAAP Season 82 campaign, “It’s the player development that we’re really going after…I think we were able to somehow address that as a team, and we saw the growth of each individual all throughout the season.”
The scores:
DLSU 89- Malonzo 34, Baltazar 14, Caracut 14, Bartlett 7, Serrano 7, Hill 5, Laput 3, Escandor 3, Lojera 2
AdU 63- Manlapaz 15, Lastimosa 10, Mojica 9, Douanga 6, Ahanmisi 5, Fermin 4, Chauca 4, Zaldivar 3, Sabandal 3, Camacho 2, Yerro 2
Quarter scores: 25-12, 50-29, 68-40, 89-63
