The DLSU Green Archers delivered a statement performance to open their campaign in the third season of the Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup, tranquilizing the gutsy NU Bulldogs, 81-69, earlier today, April 20, at the Amoranto Sports Complex.
Raven Cortez led the way for the reigning UAAP champions, notching 19 points on perfect shooting paired with six rebounds. King Archer Kevin Quiambao backed him up by recording 13 points and seven boards in his return, while Jonnel Policarpio contributed 12 points to the total.
Reinhard Jumamoy was the only player to reach double-figures for the Sampaloc-based team with 11 points, all while showing off his capabilities as a facilitating guard throughout the game. Also chipping in for the Bulldogs were Joe Gulapa, Paul Francisco, and Patrick Yu, who each had nine points in the ball game.
Return of the kings
In his first game back donning the Green-and-White, Quiambao boldly announced his return by opening the scoring for the Green Archers, hitting two triples within the opening four minutes to put his side up, 10-7. La Salle could not pull away early as NU’s matchup zone defense prevented them from getting easy looks, but trips to the charity stripe and a jumper from Policarpio gave them a five-point edge with a minute remaining in the first quarter, 16-11. Sticking to their game plan, the Bulldogs played physically as an aggressive drive to the cup from veteran Yu picked up Jcee Macalalag’s third foul and was followed by a putback from Gulapa that tied the game at 18-all.
To open the second frame, Mohamed Diassana dished a nifty pass down low to Gulapa, who finished on a two-hand slam, 20-18. The team from Taft was forced to call an early timeout to stop further bleeding, which effectively awakened them from their slump. With their more polished pace on offense, Policarpio’s bombs from a distance, combined with Cortez’s monstrous presence in the post, sparked a 13-2 run for the white shirts, 31-22. Throughout the rest of the quarter, the Green Archers matched the squad from Sampaloc bucket-for-bucket, preventing them from cutting down their deficit. Only in the final minute of the half did the Bulldogs find apparent gaps in La Salle’s press defense as Jumamoy and Yu both sank a triple each to decrease DLSU’s lead to five, 41-36.
Preserving the reign of the Archers
Coming off the halftime break, Diassana went for a dunk to kickstart the third quarter for the Bulldogs, cutting the Lasallian lead to only three, 41-38. With the offensive momentum finally going to the side of NU at the 7:44 mark, Mike Phillips went for an emphatic poster dunk of his own to leave the opposing defenders behind. This blasted a 9-0 scoring run for La Salle for around three minutes as the Bulldogs could not find an answer to DLSU’s offensive plays from the three-point line, 49-40. With under a minute left to play, where Omar John managed to squeeze in a layup past the Green-and-White defense in the paint, a triple by Macalalag ended the third frame with La Salle holding a 10-point cushion, 61-51.
The Green Archers maintained their composure heading into the final frame of the match, but this momentum was immediately stopped by Lenard Santiago, who ignited the Bulldogs’ scoring with a three, 61-54. However, the Taft-based team regrouped and changed their lineup, subbing in Macalalag and Russel Ogana, both immediately converting back-to-back baskets at the 7:55 mark and ballooning the lead to double-digits, 68-58.
With under five minutes left to play, NU fell short in preventing the Green Archers from dominating the paint as Quiambao, Cortez, and Policarpio went on a scoring rampage, contributing baskets from the left and right of the perimeter, 77-65. During the final seconds of the match, NU could not convert any more scoring as they succumbed to the UAAP Season 86 reigning champions, 81-69.
With this statement opening win, the DLSU Green Archers aim to dominate the Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup as they still await their next opponent in the tournament.
The Scores:
DLSU 81 – Cortez 19, Quiambao 13, Policarpio 12, Macalalag 9, Abadam 8, Ogana 8, Agunanne 6, Phillips 5, Austria 1, Alian 0, David 0, Gollena 0
NU 69 – Jumamoy 11, Francisco 9, Gulapa 9, Yu 9, Tulabut 7, John 6, Diassana 5, Dela Cruz 2, Padrones 2, Palacielo 2
Quarter Scores: 18-18, 41-36, 61-51, 81-69
