© Provided by The Philippine Star
The De La Salle Green Archers won the war of attrition over the pesky Adamson Falcons, 98-88, in the inaugural match of the 2016 Filoil Flying V Premier Cup yesterday.
The Archers were headed for a blowout early on when they gained a 15-point lead, 28-13, with 1:28 left in the first quarter with the power inside game behind Jeron Teng, Ben Mbala, and Jayboy Gob.
Matters looked bleak for Adamson with Papi Sarr on the bench with foul trouble, but the Falcons’ second unit of Dawn Ochea, Harold Ng, Khristian Bernardo, and new acquisitions Robby Manalang and Sean Maganti rallied to take the lead 34-32.
The Green Archers regained the lead heading into the half, 48-45. In the fourth period, DLSU took advantage of the absence of Manalang and Ng who both went down with cramps to lead by 14, 87-73, after a Kib Montalbo triple. Adamson attempted one last rally but a full court press employed by the Archers squelched any thoughts of an upset.
“I think we’re at 60-70 percent in terms of playing the system that I want,” said first year La Salle head coach Aldin Ayo of his new wards’ effort. “If you look at all my players none of them played for teams that did a lot of trapping. They know the concept but their bodies haven’t adjusted to playing it. But it was a good win.”
Jeron Teng led all scorers with 30 points. Jayboy Gob added 20 points and seven rebounds while Cameroonian center Ben Mbala finished with a double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
In the other seniors match, the University of the East Red Warriors rallied to defeat Ateneo, 93-91, in overtime. The Blue Eagles led by seven, 75-68, with two minutes left in regulation but consecutive turnovers and two huge missed free throws by Mike Nieto allowed UE to send the match to extension via a three-pointer by Edson Batiller.
In overtime, Renz Palma proved to be a handful for Ateneo as he drove the lane and found the basket at will. He hit four straight free throws with power forward Clark Derige chipping in one point to give Ateneo a five-point lead. The Blue Eagles’ Adrian Wong sank a triple before the buzzer for the final score.
Palma led UE with 22 points while Team B callup Alvin Pasaol added 15.