Ben Mbala, Jeron Teng, and the Green Archers proved to be too much for the Fighting Maroons.
The league-leading De La Salle University Green Archers snapped the the two-game winning streak of University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons with a 78-72 win, Saturday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Jeron Teng, in his first game back after missing two games due to a treatment he received on his left foot, scored 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting to go along with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The King Archer led La Salle in their opening quarter surge, scoring nine points to help give La Salle their biggest lead of the game, 25-9.
“I never felt better this season,” the graduating forward said. “From this game, for sure, we will see a lot of [room] for improvement.”
But unlike in their opening round encounter, the Fighting Maroons fought back. Behind Jarrell Lim during the second frame, and Javi Gomez de Liano in the third canto, UP were able to chip the lead down to four points late in the third frame, 52-48, with 12 seconds remaining.
However, Ben Mbala kept his team afloat during the third quarter, scoring 11 of La Salle’s 14 points during that frame. The leading MVP candidate finished the game with 17 points and 20 rebounds.
Rookie Aljun Melecio then sparked La Salle’s early fourth quarter run as he knocked down two triples in a 9-4 rally to give the Green Archers a 64-52 lead with 6:15 left.
Late baskets by Desiderio and De Liano cut La Salle’s lead to as low as six, but time was not on UP’s side.
“It’s always good to get a win on your birthday,” assistant coach Paolo Sauler said, as head coach Aldin Ayo was celebrating his 39th birthday as well. “Overall, coach Aldin was fairly happy. Hopefully, in the next three days, we can improve on the things we can improve on for our next game.”
UP were able to hold La Salle to a season-low shooting-wise, at 33 percent. The Fighting Maroons shot the ball at a high-clip, 50 percent, but this was negated by their 33 turnovers that led to 26 points.
Desiderio led UP with 16 points and eight rebounds. Jett Manuel and rookie De Liano added 13 and 11 points respectively.
The DLSU Green Archers (9-0) take on the National University Bulldogs (4-4) next on Wednesday, October 19, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. The UP Maroons (3-6) look to bounce back from this defeat, facing the Far Eastern University Tamaraws (7-2) on Saturday, October 22, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
DLSU (78) – Teng 21, Mbala 17, Torres 13, Melecio 9, Rivero R 9, Rivero P 4, Montalbo 3, Caracut 2, Tratter 0, Perkins 0, Baltazar 0, Go 0.
UP (72) – Desiderio 16, Manuel 13, Gomez de Liano 11, Lim 8, Moralde 7, Harris 4, Prado 4, Lao 4, Espanola 3, Dario 2, Webb 0, Romero 0, Vito 0, Jaboneta 0.
Quarterscores: 25-14, 41-34, 55-48, 78-72.
