The DLSU Green Archers halted the charging momentum of their longtime rivals, the ADMU Blue Eagles, 80-65, in their UAAP Season 87 Round Two meeting earlier tonight, October 26, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Kevin Quiambao showed his MVP form once again for La Salle, bringing home his seventh Player of the Game accolade and marking another career-high performance of 33 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists on 45.5-percent shooting. Joshua David followed suit with nine points and five rebounds, while EJ Gollena added nine points and three rebounds of his own.
Star rookie Jared Bahay led the Blue Eagles, tallying 22 points and four assists. Chris Koon and Kristian Porter supported their guard with nine and eight points, respectively.
High-stakes chase
The DLSU Green Archers had the favor on their ensemble, immediately leaving behind a five-point trail for their rivals to catch up on during the first few minutes of the game. Porter and Bahay’s back-to-back long two-pointers became the only breathing room for Ateneo, cutting the lead to one, 5-4. The Archers’ defensive prowess was difficult for the Ateneans to keep up with, allowing the Green-and-White to capitalize on the young team’s persistent errors and missed opportunities. The Green Archers boasted a 13-point lead just five minutes into the game, while the ADMU Blue Eagles were left at their initial four notches, 17-4. After frequent player changes and efforts to find their footing, the Blue Eagles broke their four-point curse after successive two-point buckets, 17-8. Both squads failed to benefit from the multiple clashes and fouls that were officiated in the last two minutes of the first quarter. Joshua Lazaro broke Ateneo’s eight-point drought as his team started gaining the momentum they were looking for with a long-range shot, 17-11. However, not only was it too late for ADMU’s first-quarter redemption but the huge starting lead of La Salle was also impossible to catch, closing the first quarter at 17-11.
Shawn Tuano started the second quarter by breaking the ice for Ateneo, cutting the Blue Eagles’ deficit to four, 17-13. As the gap narrowed and intensity rose, recurring personal fouls on the two squads were called, where Quiambao and Vhoris Marasigan advanced the Green Archers to 19-13. Meanwhile, Bahay converted three of his free throws to cut the Blue Eagles’ trail to three following a charge from Jcee Macalalag, 19-16. The Green Archers hindered all progress from their adversaries to create an 11-point cushion. Ateneo’s only play was to leverage fouls called on La Salle to advance them to 27-18 from Bahay’s free throws. Quiambao exhibited his talents with steady point production to bring the Archers back to a double-digit lead, 30-18. The Bahay-reliant ADMU Blue Eagles struggled behind the Archers even after back-to-back field goals, 32-23. Koon began to step up for Ateneo after an impactful long three, 37-32. However, it was no match for the Quiambao-charged Lasallians who pushed the scoreboard to 42-32. Ateneo’s final inch toward the Green Archers was a stale free throw by Ian Espinosa, finalizing the second quarter with a single-digit lead, 42-33.
Will to win
The Green Archers started the second half asserting their dominance further over their rivals. Quiambao started the scoring with a putback and converted his bonus free throw to immediately extend the lead back to double-digits, 45-33. However, two minutes in, La Salle guards Gollena and Macalalag found themselves in foul trouble, allowing Ateneo’s star guard Bahay to cut the lead to seven, 45-38. The Green Archers did not let the looming foul trouble stop them as they remained aggressive in attacking the basket. Quiambao followed through on his team’s aggressions, draining his fourth three-pointer in the game to extend the lead to 12 halfway through the third quarter, 53-41. After a TV timeout at the 4:29 mark, the Green-and-White looked further to extend their advantage, maintaining their unselfish and aggressive offense and forcing bad shots from the Blue Eagles on the defensive end. Marasigan showed his hustle to gain possessions for La Salle and drained a mid-range shot to deal with Ateneo’s increased intensity in the final two and a half minutes. In the final minutes of the third quarter, Quiambao stamped La Salle’s dominance with another three-pointer to enter the fourth quarter with a 15-point advantage, 63-48.
Koon drained a stunning perimeter shot 30 seconds into the last quarter, triggering Head Coach Topex Robinson to call a timeout as he looked to motivate his squad to end the quarter strong. Marasigan, David, and Gollena answered the call, giving the Green Archers their largest lead of the game, 70-52. With time running out, Ateneo Coach Tab Baldwin called a timeout at the 5:14 mark, looking to inspire his squad for a late comeback. The Blue Eagles manifested a boost of motivation, finding the mark from outside as Espinosa and Sean Quitevis drained shots from behind the three-point line to cut the lead to nine, 73-64. However, Quiambao once again proved to be the difference maker, silencing Ateneo by jamming the ball inside after a good possession from the Green Archers, 75-64. The Blue Eagles’ spirits were shattered after an end to their run, resorting to hustle efforts to climb back into the game. But Mike Phillips outworked the Blue Eagles to raise Lasallian spirits with a hustle play to regain possession and a putback with 57.1 seconds left, stretching the lead back to 12, 77-65. David once again hit a dagger three-pointer in a big game to seal the victory for the Green Archers, sweeping their rivals in their elimination round head-to-head matchups for the first time since 2013, 80-65.
After the game, Coach Robinson shared his pre-game message to his team, emphasizing that this rivalry game remains a highly-anticipated match with historical repercussions, “Every time we play Ateneo, it’s gonna be something to always value, and we were talking about this early during the pre-game huddle, when you see the time comes 10-20 years from now when you see that game, you have to ask yourself what you did to help or to contribute to that victory.”
For Quiambao, the reigning MVP shared that he just let the game flow and where it took him as he achieved another career-high in the UAAP, “Inantay ko lang ‘yung game kung saan pumunta sa’kin.” However, he still remains focused on the bigger picture despite another emphatic victory over their rivals, “It’s a good win for us, pero malayo pa kami sa gusto naming puntahan.”
(I just waited for where the game will take me.)
(It’s a good win for us, but it’s still far from where we want to be.)
After this victory, the Green-and-White improved to 10-1 in the standings. They will be looking to maintain their hot streak in the second round as they take on the FEU Tamaraws on Wednesday, November 6, at 3:30 pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 80 – Quiambao 33, David 9, Gollena 9, Austria 7, Marasigan 7, Macalalag 5, Phillips 4, Ramiro 3, Gonzales 2, Dungo 1, Agunanne 0
ADMU 65 – Bahay 22, Koon 9, Porter 8, Tuano 8, Espinosa 6, Lazaro 6, Quitevis 5, Bongo 1, Balogun 0, Ong 0, Gamber 0, Espina 0
Quarter Scores: 17-11, 42-33, 63-48, 80-65
