The DLSU Green Archers proved to be the bane of the Red Warriors’ bid for an inaugural victory, pulling off an 84-72 win in their UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament clash earlier tonight, October 29, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Luis Pablo led the Green Archers’ decisive breakaway with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Backing him up was Mike Phillips, who recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Jacob Cortez added 12 points and five assists to further emerge as the mighty squad of the game.
For the Red Warriors, John Abate carried the scoring load with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Precious Momowei matched him with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Cruz-Dumont also added eight points and four rebounds, but could not help contain DLSU’s aggressiveness on both ends of the court.
Feeling it out
Meeting since their tightly contested Round One bout, both teams opened the first quarter by tentatively testing the waters. Jcee Macalalag broke the ice with a fadeaway jumper off a composed ball rotation to put the Green Archers on the board, 2-0. The Green-and-White established an early edge, building enough to showcase highlight plays from a Doy Dungo stepback triple to a slam, stretching the lead to 9-4.
Despite the barrage, UE sneaked ahead as the Taft-based squad faced foul struggles, 12-11. Nonetheless, the Archers quickly adjusted to reclaim the lead, erecting a wall of green shirts that left UE scrambling for clean, 14-11. The last deadlock at 14-all came off a forced three from Momowei, who struggled to find space inside the paint. Even with brisk scoring exchanges and UE’s efficient finishes under the rim, DLSU proved to be the better torment, diversifying their offense and exposing the Red Warriors’ rebounding lapses.
Leaving the first-quarter tension behind, Earl Abadam opened the second frame with a steal and a pass for Pablo’s open layup, 27-19. The Red Warriors managed to tighten their defense to force a brief scoring lull against the Archers. Both teams then loosened their play, trading baskets before Cortez spun and faded away to keep DLSU ahead, 33-28. Following yet another dry spell, Abate delivered last-minute heroics in orchestrating three consecutive scoring sequences in hopes of swinging the momentum. However, the Green-and-White refused to yield the spotlight, with Phillips punctuating the half with two dunks—saving Macalalag’s near turnover, then cleaning up an Abadam miss—to send DLSU into the break with a 43-36 lead.
Bomb defused
The Green Archers marched into the second half with sharpened arrows, ready to pierce through the Red Warriors’ defense. Wasting no time in the third period, La Salle asserted their might as Macalalag dished a crisp feed to Pablo for a mid-range jumper to bring them within reach of their first double-digit lead of the match, 45-36. Nearly two minutes later, Pablo was the same man for the job, cleaning up after Phillips’ missed jumpshot attempt to bring them up 47-36. Dungo solidified the dominance, after scoring back-to-back sharp triples to cancel out a Momowei jumper, 55-43. The Red Warriors were undeterred as they displayed determination to cut back their deficit, tallying a 6-0 scoring blitz capped off with a Dumont three-point shot seconds before the buzzer, 59-50.
Stepping into the fourth, DLSU continued to aggressively rain buckets on UE, with Marasigan striking the three-point line to reinstate their double-digit margin, 62-50. Gomez unloaded a triple off an assist from Cortez, who took the floor later on with his own trey to mark a blowout 20-point lead for La Salle, 75-55. However, the Recto-based squad capitalized on Momowei’s might inside the court and penalty buckets, lodging an 11-0 run to squash the dazing advantage, 75-66. Although the Green Archers struggled to craft last-minute plays and were limited to the charity stripe in the last few minutes of the game, Cortez’s fadeaway jumper at the 2:05 mark sealed the 84-72 win.
After trailing by 21 points in their Round One encounter, where they managed to steal a one-point overtime victory, La Salle flipped the script in Round Two after building their biggest lead at 20 and securing a commanding win. With this, Coach Topex Robinson acknowledged the grit of their opponents, “We [knew] it was going to be a challenging afternoon for us. We know that this UE team will always give their best.” He then commended his players for their growth and composure, adding, “They were already talking among themselves about what they’ll do, just to make sure we’re not gonna have the same experience we had the first time we did UE.”
Now on a four-game win streak, the DLSU Green Archers look to bring their winning ways as they take on the top-seeded NU Bulldogs on Sunday, November 2, at 2 pm, at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 84 – Pablo 16, Phillips 14, Cortez 12, Dungo, 9, Macalalag 8, Gollena 8, Marasigan 6, Abadam 4, Gomez 3, Daep 2, Quines 2, Nwankwo 0, Melencio 0, Dagdag 0
UE 72 – Abate 20, Momowei 20, Cruz Dumont 8, Robles 7, Despi 6, Caoile 4, Lagat 3, Datumalim 2, Cabero 2, Jimenez 0, Tanedo 0, Mulingtapang 0, Malaga 0
Quarter Scores: 25-19, 43-36, 59-50, 84-72
