Starting last June 2, the DLSU Green Archers and the Lady Archers hit the shores of Calatagan South Beach, Batangas to vie for a shot at the UAAP Season 84 3×3 Basketball tournament crown. The Green Archers had a dominant start as they finished the first day with three wins and one loss—resulting in a tie with the UP Fighting Maroons for a first-place spot in the standings. Meanwhile, the Lady Archers got off on the wrong foot as they ended the day with one win and three losses.
Representing the Lady Archers are third year players Bettina Binaohan and Briana Espinas, and Marga Jimenez and Angel Quinco—who may just be the future of the team with three playing years left. As for the men’s team, veterans Ralph Cu, Donn Lim, bigman Benjamin Phillips, and rookie Emman Galman donned the Green-and-White.
Finding their footing
The DLSU Lady Archers tipped off their UAAP Season 84 stint by facing the UST Growling Tigresses. The team from España took advantage of their perimeter shooting and narrowly escaped with a one-point victory over DLSU. Despite the loss, Binaohan showcased her ability to crash the boards, ending with a team-high seven rebounds to go along with five points.
Hoping to bounce back from the first game, the Green-and-White faced off against the FEU Lady Tamaraws in their second match of the day. This matchup came down to the wire once more. With the game again highlighted by perimeter shooting, FEU outscored the Lady Archers, 10-8, in perimeter points. This ultimately pushed FEU over the edge to outlast the Lady Archers by a singular point, 11-10. Impressively, Quinco was next to make a mark with her monster performance—finishing the game with a near double-double—as she sank eight points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Coming off back-to-back losses, the Lady Archers looked hungrier than ever to get their first victory of the day against the AdU Lady Falcons. The Lady Archers managed to sink all nine points, squeezing out a victory over Adamson by just two markers, 13-12. Jimenez showcased an all-around performance by stuffing the stat sheet with two points, five rebounds, and three assists. On the other hand, Binaohan and Quinco continued to show their superior rebounding as they grabbed six and seven rebounds, respectively.
With their first win in the bag, the Lady Archers tried to carry their momentum into a duel with archrivals ADMU Blue Eagles. Contrary to their games against UST and FEU, the Green-and-White looked to improve their perimeter shots against Ateneo. However, their downfall was their performance in the paint. DLSU allowed nine points in the paint and only managed to score a single point—a far cry from the past games’ excellent performance on the inside. Ultimately, this lack of consistency on both offense and defense led to a 13-10 defeat to the Blue Eagles, rounding off their first day with a 1-3 win-loss record. Despite dropping another close one, Binaohan finished the game with yet another great performance, scoring seven points to go along with eight boards.
A different story
Fresh off a stellar performance in the Men’s Basketball tournament, the representatives from the DLSU Green Archers finished strong on day one of the 3×3 tournament as they matched UP’s 3-1 win-loss record—securing a two-way tie for first place in the standings. The Green-and-White suffered their only loss in their opening game against the AdU Soaring Falcons, 18-12. However, this unfortunate opening game result did not faze the Green Archers, who would turn out victorious in their remaining three games.
Matching up against their archrivals in the ADMU Blue Eagles, the Taft-based squad was able to snag a win with Lim’s six points, two assists, and one rebound. Phillips also made his presence felt with his five points, four rebounds, and one block. The Green Archers grounded the Blue Eagles who shot only 20 percent from the field throughout the affair. At the buzzer, it was DLSU who triumphed as Chris Koon’s 10 points would not be enough to rally his Katipunan-based team to victory, [score].
In the next blowout against the FEU Tamaraws, DLSU’s scoring was too much for the Morayta-based squad to handle as it saw the Green Archers take their second win of the tournament, 22-9. Crashing the glass for the Green Archers was Cu who corralled seven rebounds and seven points to contribute to the dominant win.
To wrap up the final matchup of the day, the Green Archers went against the NU Bulldogs. The scoring was evenly distributed among the four Lasallians, but it was Lim who stood out with his all-around performance—posting five points, three assists, and five rebounds. Despite the close game against the NU Bulldogs, DLSU was able to pull away by a single point, 19-18, to cap off an impressive day of 3×3 basketball.
Keeping the ball rolling
With a less than ideal start to their 3×3 campaign, the Lady Archers will try to bounce back on day two with hopes of squeezing their way into the playoffs. Fans of the Lady Archers can expect a hungrier team and even more from Binaohan, Espinas, Jimenez, and Quinco as they battle the UP Lady Maroons and the NU Lady Bulldogs today at 10 am and 12 pm, respectively.
Meanwhile, after an exceptional display of teamwork, the Green Archers aim to bring their momentous start in later games as they face the UST Growling Tigers and the UP Fighting Maroons at 10:30 am and 12:45 pm, respectively.
As the seedings finalize after the pool play games, both DLSU teams still might have a shot at championing the event.
