Sporting a dominant elimination round campaign in the 18th FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup, the DLSU Green Archers held firm until the final buzzer to preserve their perfect record, outlasting fellow contenders UST Growling Tigers, 94-86, earlier today, July 9, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
Kean Baclaan stood out for La Salle, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Mason Amos provided strong support, contributing 18 points, five boards, and an assist to help the Green Archers fend off the Tigers’ relentless charge.
On the other end of the court, Glenn Danting sustained the UST Growling Tigers with 19 points, including a rebound and an assist. Alongside him was Nic Cabañero, who chipped in 18 points, three rebounds, and an assist.
Trading blows
With both teams vying for the top spot in the elimination round, the first half unfolded as a high-octane exchange of baskets. In the opening minute, Forthsky Padrigao matched Amos’ early offensive bursts, but the Lasallian wingman earned straight buckets inside, giving DLSU the early advantage, 4-2. The squads remained neck-and-neck until Mike Phillips checked in, injecting a much-needed boost with his rebounding efforts and scoring from both the free throw line and midrange, pushing the lead to 17-13. Baclaan then erupted with a personal shooting spree, draining three baskets in just a minute and a half to widen the gap between DLSU and UST, 25-17. However, the final moments of the opening quarter swung UST’s way, capped by a buzzer-beating triple from Kyle Paranada that cut the deficit to just three despite a strong Lasallian start, 26-23.
The Growling Tigers carried their momentum into the second quarter, finally catching up to the Green Archers after Charles Bucsit drilled a three just 15 seconds in to tie the game at 26-all. But Phillips wasted no time regaining control for the Green-and-White, slamming down a powerful dunk on the next play to stabilize the game, 28-26. As Baclaan drew more defensive attention, La Salle spaced the floor, culminating in a wide-open Mikey Cortez, whose clean three-pointer gave the Archers their biggest lead of the half, 38-30. Still, UST refused to fold. Cabañero sparked a scoring surge, knocking down three baskets, while Bucsit added another triple to bring the Growling Tigers back level with La Salle, 39-all. The Green Archers, however, quickly regrouped and launched a 9-2 run, capped by Amos, who stretched his range after dominating inside as he knocked down a three-pointer to pull ahead once more, 48-41. The final stretch of the quarter saw both teams continue trading blows, with UST managing to stay within striking distance after two consecutive treys from Danting, 50-48. Jcee Macalalag lodged a shot with 42 seconds left to close the half with La Salle still slightly ahead, 52-49.
Down to the wire
Baclaan ignited a 10-2 Green-and-White run to open the second half, cutting through UST’s defense to inflate their lead to double-digits, 62-52. But the Growling Tigers kept their composure by taking advantage of their hot shooting hand, leading to consecutive threes from Koji Buenaflor and Padrigao. Both squads would trade baskets as the Lasallians would relentlessly attack the paint with the white shirts answering back with good ball movement, leading to back-to-back treys that cut the lead down to three, 69-66. Luis Pablo and Amos attempted to retake control, but Danting answered with another trey as the Growling Tigers stayed within striking distance. Tensions flared as Phillips and Peter Osang were called for unsportsmanlike fouls following an altercation, yet the Green Archers would hold onto a narrow lead as they headed into the final period, 75-71.
The fourth quarter saw the Lasallians pull away once more, with another run spurred by an Andrei Dungo-fastbreak layup, after the white shirts controlled the rebounds as well as aggressively attacking the paint to bring the lead back to 10, 83-73. The Taft-based squad continued to display their size advantage as Phillips tipped in a Pablo attempt. Faced with the biggest lead of the game, UST continued to find open looks that led to a Cabañero basket and a three-pointer by Danting. DLSU would answer back with a three-pointer from M. Cortez and a Phillips highlight slam to maintain the large advantage, 90-78. UST deployed a zone defense to respond and disrupt the Lasallian offense, capitalizing on their sharpshooting, courtesy of Leland Estacio and Prince Alao. The Growling Tigers continued to try closing the gap with multiple attempts from beyond the arc, but to no avail, as Jacob Cortez found Amos for an open basket to seal the Green Archers’ sweep of the elimination round, 94-86.
The top-seeded Green-and-White will return to the same venue this Friday, July 11, at 4 pm as they look to capitalize on their momentum in their meeting with the NCAA’s fourth-seeded AU Chiefs in the knockout quarterfinals.
The Scores:
DLSU 94 – Baclaan 18, Amos 18, Phillips 14, J. Cortez 11, Dungo 8, Macalalag 7, Marasigan 6, M. Cortez 6, Pablo 4, Abadam 2, Nwanko 0
UST 86 – Danting 19, Cabañero 18, Osang 8, Crisostomo 7, Padrigao 7, Paranada 6, Bucsit 6, Buenaflor 5, Laure 4, Estacio 3, Alao 3, Calum 0, Acido 0
Quarter Scores: 26-23, 52-49, 75-71, 94-86
