De La Salle secured the top seed in the playoffs with ease, dominating a short-handed University of the Philippines, 97-46, in the PGFlex Invitational Basketball Tournament on Thursday, November 28, at the Paco Arena in Manila.
With only six players available due to various reasons, the Maroons struggled to keep pace, and the Archers wasted no time capitalizing on their opponent’s manpower issues.
La Salle jumped to a commanding 30-15 lead in the first 10 minutes, building the largest winning margin in the preseason tournament presented by Quintana.
Taking full advantage of UP’s limited rotation, the Taft-based squad stretched its lead to 71-28, turning the game into a virtual “warm-up” as the Maroons were visibly exhausted.
The victory allowed La Salle to top the first phase of the semifinals with a 7-1 record.
UP and Centro Escolar University finished second and third, respectively, with 5-3 and 4-4 records.
The Archers were led by Justin Buenaventura, Russel Ogana, and Bright Nwankwo, each contributing 14 points. They will face No. 4 seed Olivarez College in the knockout semifinals on Tuesday, December 3.
Meanwhile, UP and CEU will battle for the other finals berth.
Olivarez College secured the No. 4 spot by sweeping the second round of eliminations, including a 79-68 victory over Immaculada Concepcion College (ICC).
Tied for fourth to sixth place with ICC and Manila Central University (MCU) at 4-4, the Sea Lions advanced with the best quotient.
The MCU Supremos wrapped up their campaign with a dramatic 55-54 win over Adamson, thanks to Seanne Devon General’s clutch free throws with just 30 seconds left.
Interestingly, General’s free throws were his only points of the game in 21 minutes of play.
