The DLSU Green Archers put up a dominating performance in their blowout win over the ADMU Blue Eagles, 98-61, to extend their win streak to four in the FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup earlier tonight, June 2, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Kevin Quiambao shined in the Green-and-White’s takedown of the Blue Eagles, tallying 31 markers, seven rebounds, and four assists on a 68-percent shooting. EJ Abadam and David Dungo both made sure to back up their star, putting up 12 and 11 points, respectively.
For the Blue Eagles, Joshua Lazaro put up 15 points and 12 rebounds in an effort to stay with the Green Archers, while Jared Bahay followed through with 12 points and five rebounds.
Ambush from all sides
The Green Archers completely dominated the first half thanks to the team’s efficient scoring and pressure defense, leaving the Blue Eagles grappling on both ends. DLSU was able to capitalize on ADMU’s lackluster scoring, poor turnovers, and substandard decision-making.
From the tip-off, La Salle proved to have the upper hand, with Abadam opening the match with a shot from behind the arc. The Green Archers were able to contain the Blue Eagles’ offense which left them scoreless in the first two minutes of the match, 10-0. Despite ADMU finally gaining their first point of the game from a charity shot by Lazaro, DLSU unleashed a five-point run courtesy of Quiambao’s elusive scoring, 15-1. La Salle’s heightened offense led to the team’s stellar decision-making with contributions from the unsung heroes, CJ Austria and Jonnel Policarpio’s pull-up jumpers and foul shots, 28-9. La Salle’s control over the game made it difficult for their rivals to catch up, with the Blue Eagles trailing by 20 markers, 35-15.
Much like the initial quarter, the Green Archers outplayed the Blue Eagles in the second frame as they continued to dominate the court, making the most of their offensive rebounds, 46-17. With less than five minutes left, the Blue Eagles still struggled to find their footing as Abadam scored his second triple, 55-19. Hoping to be the spark plug, Ateneo’s Lazaro and Bahay were able to start a 7-0 run to which La Salle’s Dungo immediately answered with a three-pointer to stop the bleeding. The Taft-based squad ended the first half with an astounding 35-point lead as they emerged superior in both offense and defense, 65-30.
Making a statement
The second half opened with the Green Archers holding a very comfortable lead, finding no pressure continuing to show off their brand of basketball. Quiambao and Abadam found space on the outside to hit long-range jumpers to extend the lead to 41 just two minutes into the third quarter, 73-34. After an early timeout, Quiambao continued to torture the Ateneo defense with his hot shooting from the midrange and behind the arc, 78-34.
The Green-and-White made sure to supplement their MVP’s hot hand with their signature defense, keeping the Katipunan-based squad scoreless for over four minutes before a Lazaro pullup cut the deficit to 42 markers, 78-36. But, the Green Archers made sure to immediately put worries back into the Blue Eagles as Quiambao and Dungo capitalized on long jumpers of their own, 84-36. With over three minutes left, Mason Amos and Chris Koon tried to rally their troops, but the Lasallian defense proved to be too much for the Katipunan tandem to handle. La Salle was unable to extend their lead and capitalize on their defensive efforts as they gave up a late Kyle Ong putback to end the third quarter, 85-43.
At the start of the fourth quarter, La Salle found themselves backpedaling as Bahay found his footing from three to inspire Kyle Gamber to attack the Lasallian defense from midrange, forcing Coach Topex Robinson to call a timeout with 7:20 to go, 87-53. Quiambao and Policarpio immediately responded for the Green Archers, finding gaps in the Atenean defense. With a 39-point lead and five minutes to go, Coach Robinson took out his starters and gave his rookies an opportunity to show off their talents.
Coming off the bench, Vhoris Marasigan and Ethan Alian showed no fear as they got to the basket to draw fouls, 94-55. As the Green Archers looked to close out an almost perfect game, Jake Gaspay and Raven Cortez made sure not to let up as they both blocked shots to prevent any consolation from their rivals. Cortez found rhythm to close out the game, scoring from inside the paint and putting the finishing touches, 98-61.
After a dominant outing from the Green Archers, Quiambao gave credit to the La Salle system in fueling the team’s victory: “For us, tine-take lang namin one game at a time, kung sino ang kaharap namin yun ang pinag-popokusan namin. Gawin lang namin yung sistema namin, hindi kami mananalo kung hindi namin ineexecute yung system at yung gameplans namin.”
(For us, we take it one game at a time, we focus on whoever we are up against, executing our system because we know that we won’t win if it weren’t for our system and game plan.)
Head Coach Robinson admitted that a title defense in the UAAP would be difficult which is why they are doing their best to solidify the team’s chemistry on the court. “We’re trying to build something here, we know that this coming season, I would say will be the most difficult for us because of what’s at stake. But for us, we’re always looking for ways to learn and not wasting any opportunity for us to really grow together as a team,” he said.
Coming off this dominant performance, the DLSU Green Archers will continue to sharpen their arrows as they take on the FEU Tamaraws tomorrow, June 3, at 5 pm, at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 98 – Quiambao 31, Abadam 12, Dungo 11, Austria 9, Cortez 9, Policarpio 7, Ramiro 6, Macalalag 5, Aguanne 4, Marasigan 3, Alian 1, Gaspay 0, Romero 0, Rubico 0, Zamora 0
ADMU 61 – Lazaro 15, Bahay 12, Gamber 7, Espinosa 6, Koon 6, Amos 5, Ong 4, Porter 2, Reyes 2, Tuano 2, Bongo 0, De Luna 0, Espina 0, Nieto 0, Quitevis 0,
Quarter Scores – 35-15, 65-30, 85-43, 98-61
