Coming off their championship victory in the AsiaBasket College Campus Tour a week prior, the DLSU Green Archers brought their winning ways into the 18th FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup, thrashing the AdU Soaring Falcons in their opening game, 65-47, earlier tonight, May 18, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
Kean Baclaan showed out in the Green-and-White’s come-from-behind win over the Soaring Falcons, unleashing 12 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. Backing him up was Mike Phillips, who served seven points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and three steals to help La Salle achieve a strong start in their offseason endeavor.
On the opposite side of the court, Earl Medina and Austin Ronzone supplied the Soaring Falcons in an exciting matchup, contributing 14 and 11 markers, respectively.
Starting on the wrong foot
The Green Archers were late to assert dominance in their FilOil EcoOil Preseason debut, starting on an unsteady footing and allowing the Soaring Falcons a better kickoff. Trailing early in the matchup, the Taft-based squad, led by Jacob Cortez’s two points, struggled with rotations and failed to convert offensive attempts as the ballers from San Marcelino quickly built an eight-point advantage, 10-2. Despite the premature struggles of the Green-and-White, Phillips and Lebron James Daep kept the team at bay with a halfcourt setup to cut the gap, 12-6. Pressured by Adamson’s momentum, Phillips found other scoring options under the basket after shaky attempts from beyond the arc. The unsteady long-range attempts were capitalized on by the Soaring Falcons, who kept their distance at six points, 14-8. In an effort to shift momentum back to the green side, the insertion of Mason Amos and Baclaan helped cut the lead to one, but it was not enough to offset the Adamson surge led by Zahir Sajili and Ronzone as they exploited the Green Archers’ early mishaps and executed smooth transition plays from defense to offense, 16-15.
As the second quarter opened, both teams slowed down the pace, but the Amos-Baclaan tandem sparked life into the Lasallians, turning the tables in favor of DLSU with a brief one-point lead until Johnray Abayon’s free throws helped Adamson reclaim the advantage, 21-20. The Soaring Falcons’ fresh faces on the court played clean, but Lion-turned-Archer Jacob Cortez responded for La Salle, chipping in a three-pointer to snatch back the lead, 23-21. With four minutes left in the second quarter, both squads struggled to assert total dominance with the ball. The Green-and-White grabbed crucial rebounds from missed shots, but Adamson’s tight defense prevented the Archers from converting. Medina tied the game after a smooth transition play set up by Ronzone, 23-all. The Falcons doubled up the pressure, with Medina adding a jumper from beyond the arc before Earl Abadam answered with back-to-back buckets to keep the green jerseys in close contention at the first half buzzer, 29-27.
Strong finish
After trailing behind the Soaring Falcons in the first half, the Green Archers were determined to perform better in the second half. Despite AdU drawing first blood once the clock started with a shot from Manu Anabo, Baclaan answered back for the Green-and-White with an uncontested layup to stay within striking distance, 31-29. With La Salle starting to heat up, Jcee Macalalag added fuel to the fire with a blazing trey to finally get ahead of the Soaring Falcons three minutes into the third quarter, 34-31. La Salle racked up points, leading to a 12-0 run that allowed them to build a comfortable lead, 39-31. The team from Taft remained unstoppable in the final minutes of the third with back-to-back threes from Cortez and Abadam. Phillips would drain a triple of his own at the ten-second mark to head into the final period with a nine-point advantage, 48-39.
With DLSU finally picking up the pace, they continued with their momentum as Abadam sank a fadeaway in the first possession of the final period, extending the lead to double digits, 50-39. However, AdU refused to back down as they rallied behind Ronzone’s two consecutive sharp three-pointers to cut their deficit down to six, 51-45. In only his third game with the Green Archers, Daep chipped in a floater to spark a scoring blitz for the Green Archers as they started to pull away from the Soaring Falcons, 55-45. La Salle blocked all attempts by the Soaring Falcons to retake the upper hand, with their last bit of action being a layup from Ray Allen Torres before the Taft-based squad went into another offensive run until the clock ran out, 65-47.
After their inaugural win, Head Coach Topex Robinson commended the efforts of Baclaan and Cortez as key leaders in the win. “They really work together. They allow each other to be leaders and have their own free time on the court. Both are willing to sacrifice their limelight for the good of the team,” the Lasallian tactician said.
Baclaan acknowledged the challenges he faced adjusting in La Salle: “Marami akong nagawang mali na dapat itama. First time ko sa La Salle, nahihiya ako. Na-culture shock ako eh. Kinausap lang ako ni Coach Topex na, ‘Ito na bagong buhay mo.’ Ayon, inaayos ko lang sarili ko,” the prized transferee recalled.
(I made a lot of mistakes that I needed to fix. It was my first time at La Salle. I was shy and culture-shocked. Coach Topex just talked to me and said, ‘This is your new life now.’ So I just started working on myself.)
Off to a strong start, the Green-and-White are now eyeing redemption as they prepare to face the UP Fighting Maroons, aiming to settle the score from their UAAP Season 87 Finals loss this Saturday, May 31, at 4 pm, at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 65 – Baclaan 12, Abadam 9, Cortez 8, Amos 8, Phillips 7, Macalalag 6, Marasigan 5, Daep 4, Gollena 3, Pablo 2, Dungo 1, Sarmiento 0, Zamora 0, Alian 0, Nwanko 0, Dagdag 0,
AdU 47 – Medina 14, Ronzone 11, Manzano 8, Torres 5, Ojarike 4, Sajili 3, Abayon 2, Jaymalin 0, Canete 0, Tumaneng 0, Sicat 0
Quarter Scores: 15-19, 27-29, 48-39, 65-47
