The DLSU Green and Lady Archers wrapped up the fifth and final day of the 3×3 Basketball Tournament Elimination Round with victories over the UE Red and Lady Warriors, earlier today, May 3, at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay Activity Center.
The Lady Archers closed their campaign on a high note, conquering the Lady Warriors, 13-8. Tricia Mendoza and Kyla Sunga led the offense with four points apiece.
The Green Archers secured their place in the Final Four with a dominant 21-13 victory over the Red Warriors. Andrei Dungo led the scoring with 10 points, scorching his opponents with four beyond-the-arc baskets. Supporting him was Earl Abadam, who contributed six points.
Ending on a high
The Lady Archers struggled offensively at the start of the game, allowing the Lady Warriors to draw first blood with a two-pointer from Kristine Dalguntas. DLSU picked up a quick foul on Rachell Lacayanga, who converted her free throw to cap off an early 3-0 run for UE. Eli Delos Reyes broke the Green-and-White’s cold spell for their first basket, 3-1. Mendoza chimed in, forcing a turnover from the Lady Warriors to open up Sai Catalan for a two-pointer to tie the game at 3-all. Sunga’s hook shot later gave DLSU the lead; however, Aliyah Ronquillo responded by converting a two-point basket, putting UE ahead, 5-4. Both squads held each other scoreless in consecutive possessions until Catalan initiated a play to open Mendoza up for the layup. Mendoza would attack inside once more to give La Salle the lead, 6-5.
Both squads then secured multiple defensive stops, with neither being able to convert on a basket. Moana Vacalares’s step-through layup would put the game at another deadlock, but Sunga quickly countered by attacking the paint to give DLSU another one-point advantage, 7-6. Dalguntas then drew a foul and converted on the charity stripe to tie the game, 7-all. Mendoza also drew a foul to put the Lady Archers ahead by one. Delos Reyes followed this up with a two-pointer, while Sunga contributed consecutive points in the paint to cap off a 5-0 run. The Lady Archers kept the Lady Warriors scoreless in the remaining minutes of the game to end the elimination round in favor of La Salle, 13-8.
Heat check
In the men’s division, the Red Warriors opened the game aggressively with a 3-0 run as John Abate drove to the basket, followed up by a corner two from Welo Lingolingo. EJ Gollena responded with his own basket to open the scoring for the Green Archers. Abadam then intercepted a pass as Dungo hit a step back two to give DLSU the lead, 4-3. Lingolingo attempted to cut La Salle’s momentum with a corner two and secured a whistle. However, he split his free throws. The Green-and-White responded with consecutive baskets from beyond-the-arc by Abadam and Dungo, ballooning their advantage to four, 8-4.
The Red Warriors finished strongly in the paint, cutting the lead to three, 8-5. Dungo continued his hot streak from the perimeter as he converted another two-pointer, 10-5. Lingolingo drew a foul from another step back two-pointer, but would again split his charities. Jcee Macalalag scored on an isolation play, and both squads again traded baskets to bring the scores to 12-8. The Taft-based squad would go on a 4-0 run, kicked off by a Gollena two-pointer and capped off by an and-one basket from Abadam, 16-8. Lingolingo answered with a step back two-pointer, La Salle’s onslaught continued, with Dungo scoring six straight baskets to give the Green-and-White their largest lead of the game, 20-10. The Red Warriors converted in consecutive possessions, but Abadam’s isolation play would seal the game for the Green Archers, 21-13.
The Lady Archers end their campaign with a 3-4 record. Meanwhile, the Green Archers’ commanding win improved their record to 4-3 in the standings, claiming the fourth and final spot in the Final Four against the top-seeded NU Bulldogs.
