The DLSU Green Archers maintained their winning ways in the 19th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup after emerging victorious against the FEU Tamaraws in a hard-fought 82-77 victory yesterday, June 12, at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
Keeping the ball rolling following another intense matchup, Jacob Cortez carried the offensive load for the Green-and-White with 18 points. Rookie Jason Cibull also dropped a sizable 14-point contribution to add to the scoresheet.
On the other side of the court, Mo Konateh put on a solid offensive showing for FEU with a game-high 29 points, while UAAP Season 88 Juniors MVP Cabs Cabonilas added 11 points.
Hardwood battle
Returning to the hardwood, the Green Archers began the game with Seven Gagate opening the scoring before Janrey Pasaol answered with a jumper. Cortez led a 4-0 run with a transition bucket and earned a trip to the charity stripe, while a back-and-forth clash with Jorick Bautista would ensue. The Green-and-White turned up the heat on both ends with efforts spearheaded by Cibull, JC Macalalag, and Luis Pablo at the helm, 14-5.
Despite the Tamaraws slowly picking up the pace, the Taft-based squad capitalized on defensive lapses and vulnerable openings left by the opposition. Following a basket from Cabonilas, the Lasallian offense remained relentless as Pablo notched his third field goal and Doy Dungo followed suit. FEU was left with no room to attack as DLSU inflated the gap to 18-8. However, FEU would fire back with Konateh and Bautista to stay within striking distance, but Mason Amos and Dungo kept the Green-and-White in control with long-range shots to seal the first quarter, 24-17.
Both teams went bucket for bucket in the second frame with Vhoris Marasigan, Cibull, and Pasaol piling pressure. Tamaraws’ defense limited the Green Archers’ offensive arsenal as smothered lanes continued to be a thorn in DLSU’s side. While both teams continued their battle, Cortez and EJ Gollena gave the Green-and-White the spark they needed to keep them on their feet, 39-33.
After consecutive trips to the line from both teams with Team Captain Earl Abadam and Bautista, La Salle kept the Morayta-based squad at bay to sustain their lead, 41-37. Reaching the end of the second frame, turnovers and foul trouble struck the Tamaraws once again as Cibull launched a shot from downtown, giving La Salle a three-point lead to conclude the half, 44-41.
Fast & furious
Following a chippy first half, the Green Archers utilized their pace to score on transition layups with Cortez orchestrating the offense and Macalalag reaping the benefits. Amos soon joined the inside affair with his own shot in the post, moving the score to 50-46. Cortez’s early impact did not stop on the offensive side, as the guard outsmarted the Tamaraws with back-to-back charges drawn. As the team from Taft began to look comfortable on the floor, Konateh held FEU steady with his post presence.
Midway through the quarter, Abadam and Konateh traded buckets before Pasaol and Bautista sparked their own crafty markers, cutting the DLSU lead to one, 54-53. The run was capped by Konateh, notching a post move to secure FEU’s first lead of the quarter. Despite the surge, defensive prowess exuded from the Green-and-White with their man-to-man defense, getting a stop on FEU’s final offensive possession. Lasallian elation grew larger in the dying seconds of the quarter. A long inbound pass from Lebron Daep then connected to Cibull for a buzzer-beater bomb from deep, sealing the quarter in DLSU’s favor, 59-55.
Contrasting schemes tainted the final frame as Cortez caught early fire from three to open scoring for La Salle, but the Morayta side saw Konateh and Pasaol attacking the rim to close the gap to three, 62-59. With FEU slowly gaining momentum, Cortez launched another trey to put a stop to the fire to match Konateh’s paint dominance. Marasigan then connected on a strong left-hand pull-up to swing the cushion to 69-65, but Cabonillas struck back and instilled fire into the floor as he logged back-to-back and-one opportunities for FEU, 71-70. A DLSU barrage ensued with a pair of drives from Abadam and Cibull secured an and one, while Konateh maintained his offensive presence but was ultimately obstructed by Amos’ pesky defense.
The Lasallian offense was swarmed as FEU’s defense tightened up to enter the twilight zone. A Pasaol layup and post hook from Konateh brought the contest to a single-possession lead, 78-75, prompting Green Archers Head Coach Topex Robinson to regroup at timeout. With Cortez leading the offense, the clutch guard broke down the Tamaraws with his handles and delivered the inside pass to Macalalag for the game-icing layup, 80-75. A charity stripe battle ensued as Konate made both free throws to trim the deficit, Cortez responded by calmly converting his own pair after a last-ditch Tamaraws foul to sealLa Salle’s victory, 82-77.
In a post-game interview conducted by The LaSallian, Cortez revealed the mindset that kept him in check with his role as the primary playmaker in the clutch. “I think my role on the team is to make my teammates look better or have a better opportunity to score. I have a lot of trust in them, and they have a lot of trust in me to do my job. So, that’s all we really need is trust,” the guard shared.
The Green Archers look to push forward in the standings in their next encounter against the AdU Soaring Falcons tomorrow, June 14, at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 82 – Cortez 18, Cibull 14, Amos 9, Marasigan 8, Dungo 7, Macalalag 6, Pablo 6, Gagate 4, Gollena 4, Daep 0, Melencio 0, Quines 0, Sharma 0
FEU 77 – Konateh 29, Bautista 15, Cabonillas 11, Pasaol 8, Daa 7, Burgos 5, Hall 2, Mahmood 0, Montemayor 0, Rañeses 0, Cabigting 0, Macapagal 0, Taboctaboc 0
Quarter Scores: 24-19, 44-41, 59-55, 82-77