Overcoming a dreadful start on the offensive end, the DLSU Green Archers escaped with a victory against the UE Red Warriors, 85-82, after mounting a comeback that saw them play their first overtime game of the season at the SM Mall of Asia Arena earlier today, April 21.
Rebounding was the story of the game for DLSU as they dominated UE on the boards with a 68-41 advantage. Michael Phillips and Justine Baltazar led the way in the area, carrowing 48 rebounds between them.
Deschon Winston and Kurt Lojera spearheaded the comebacks in the second and fourth quarters as they led the Green Archers in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Additionally, Baltazar added in 14 of his own—including clutch free throws down the stretch—and Mark Nonoy pitched in with 11 points, five of which came in overtime.
In a losing effort, Harvey Pagsanjan led all UE’s scorers with 23 points and also filled up the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Kyle Paranada was also a constant on the attack with 13 points, including three shots from deep.
Disappointing start
The Green Archers came out of the gate cold as the Red Warriors took advantage from the get-go with Clint Escamis being successful in penetrating DLSU’s defense. The two teams were tied 5-all at the 7:34 mark but UE went on a fiery 8-0 run to take a 13-5 lead, taking advantage of the abundance of missed shots and careless turnovers by their adversary. UE forced La Salle into foul trouble with their aggressive play, forcing trips to the charity stripe. The introduction of M. Phillips halted UE’s run as he got a putback layup at the 1:48 mark to make it 7-13, but the Red Warriors did not run out of gas as K. Paranada answered right back with five quick points to open up a double digit lead at 7-18 in the 0:50 mark.
The Green Archers stayed cold throughout the quarter and relied on free throws to keep themselves in the game, but ended up falling behind 20-9 at the end of the first period.
Coming alive
Coming into the second quarter, the Taft-based squad looked to shake off their shooting woes in the previous period. However, it was more of the same as Leon Lorenzana increased UE’s advantage with five quick points. Jeremy Cruz followed with his own deep shot as they led, 28-14, at the 6:12 mark. The Green Archers persisted through the shooting slump with efforts on the boards while relying on offensive rebounding from M. Phillips and Baltazar to get easy points as half of the Green Archers’ points came from putbacks.
Winston also came alive in the second period, scoring eight points in the quarter and hitting his jumpshots while getting to the stripe. The Green Archers began to mount a comeback as they kept forcing turnovers and scoring on the break as they went on a 15-0 run to take their first lead of the night, 29-28, at the 2:15 mark, capped off by Evan Nelle’s three-pointer. Pagsanjan answered with four quick points to stop the run and to keep the score tied at 32-all at halftime.
Deja vu
After a strong finish in the second quarter, the Green Archers opened the third period flat footed once again as the Red Warriors opened a six to nothing run to break a deadlock—spearheaded by Je. Cruz, who scored a three pointer and made one free throw. Francis Escandor scored the first basket for DLSU in the third quarter with a layup to bring the lead down to four, 38-34. UE continued their scoring punch with the Paranada brothers draining multiple three-pointers to extend their lead to nine, 55-46. The quarter ended with Lojera making both free throws for DLSU and UE maintaining a nine-point lead going to the last period, 57-48.
Cardiac affair
The Green-and-White played their hearts out as they went on a 16-2 run going to their advantage in the paint. Lojera scored back-to-back baskets capped with a jumper. The signature defense strategy of Green Archers head coach Derrick Pumaren was shown by the team from Taft in the first few minutes of the quarter, showing signs that DLSU may build a lead at some point. However, the Red Warriors refused to quit and mounted a furious scoring barrage, led by K. Paranada and Pagsanjan, as they took a one point lead, 65-64.
With 35.4 seconds left in the game, Baltazar only made one of his two free throws to regain the lead, 68-67. UE failed to score in the possession and was forced to foul Baltazar once again. With 11.3 seconds left, the veteran split his shots at the line once again, giving DLSU a slim two-point lead, 69-67. Assistant coach Jamike Jarin mapped out a play for UE during the timeout, with hopes of winning or sending the game to overtime. In a wild sequence, Pagsanjan drove inside and found Beltran to tie the game at 69-all at the buzzer—leading to five more minutes of intense action.
Finishing touches
Both teams went back and forth on both ends during overtime—the first throughout the season—with Pagsanjan opening the scoring for UE. Lojera answered back by driving hard in the paint and scoring to tie the game for the ninth time, 71-all. With 1:23 left in the final quarter, Baltazar took over and scored in the post to break the deadlock and to give the Green Archers the lead, 78-76. The Red Warriors answered back with a quick layup from Escamis to tie the game.
In the end, Nonoy’s clutch back-to-back baskets gave the Green Archers a five-point lead. Pagsanjan never ran out of energy, scoring two layups to trim the lead to a solitary point, 83-82, after the Green Archers gifted him an open lane to attack. With 10 seconds left, UE was forced to foul and this time around, Baltazar made both free throws to seal the victory for DLSU.
The team from Taft outmuscled UE in second chance points, converting 36, compared to UE’s seven.
Baltazar commented about their “never quit” attitude, “Hindi kami bumitaw hanggang sa huli, ‘yung pride namin talagang nandun pa rin kaya nanalo kami.” M. Phillips added, “Kahit masama ‘yung start namin, pinakita namin ‘yung Animo spirit sa end. We really put up a good fight.”
With the win, DLSU climbs up the standings with a 7-3 win-loss record and looks to extend their winning streak as they will face the UP Fighting Maroons—who hold an 8-2 record—this Saturday, April 23, at 4:30 pm at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
DLSU (85) – Winston 18, Lojera 17, Baltazar 14, M. Phillips 12, Nonoy 11, Nwankwo 5, Nelle 3, Escandor 2, Galman 2, Cuajao 1, B. Phillips 0, Manuel 0
UE (82) – Pagsanjan 23, K. Paranada 13, Je. Cruz 10, Beltran 9, N. Paranada 9, Escamis 7, Lorenzana 5, Antiporda 0, Villanueva 0, Guevarra 0, Ja. Cruz 0, Abatayo 0
Quarter Scores: 20-9, 32-32, 57-48, 69-69, 85-82
