The Green Archers upstaged their 38-point blowout of the Growling Tigers in the first round by lambasting the season-hosts anew in record-breaking fashion.
The De La Salle University Green Archers tallied another rout of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 99-56, to clinch the twice-to-beat advantage in the next round, Sunday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
This is the first 40-point win in the UAAP since August 13, 2011, when the National University trounced the University of the East, 91-51.
And again the Green Archers showed overwhelming offense and defense, as every player scored in the game while limiting UST to a horrible 27 percent from the field.
But still the La Salle coaching staff wants to see consistency from their team.
“We just want to continue improving each game,” La Salle assistant coach Paulo Sauler said. “We haven’t proven anything yet.”
Ben Mbala continued his dominant run with 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 11-of-15 shooting from the stripe, while grabbing 15 rebounds and five blocks. Jeron Teng added 16 points.
The two La Salle aces combined for 22 first half points compared to just 23 for the entire Growling Tigers squad, in the first half that turned a close 19-15 start into a virtual blowout by halftime.
With 7:06 remaining in the game, the Green Archers were able to extend their lead to 38 points, the biggest lead in their first round encounter. But La Salle were not done dishing out a beating.
Head coach Aldin Ayo continued to provide La Salle with fresh legs that kept the machine running. The lead would continue to balloon to a game-high 46 points, 93-47, after a breakaway layup by Julian Sargent with 2:08 left the game, before time mercifully ran out.
Justine Baltazar added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while fellow rookie Ricci Rivero scored nine markers as well.
La Salle greatly out-rebounded UST, 66 to 35, that led to a dominant 32 to six second chance points edge. In addition, the league-leaders attempted 82 shots in the game compared to 69 for the victims.
Louie Vigil was the sole bright spot for UST with 18 points.
The DLSU Green Archers (11-0) take on the UE Red Warriors (2-8) on Wednesday, October 26 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The UST Growling Tigers (3-8) will have a two-week break before facing the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (3-8) on Sunday, November 6 at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
DLSU 99 – Mbala 21, Teng 16, Baltazar 10, Rivero R 9, Perkins 8, Torres 5, Montalbo 5, Tratter 4, Sargent 4, Dyke 4, Paraiso 4, Rivero P 4, Melecio 3, Caracut 2.
UST 56 – Vigil 18, Subido 9, Sheriff 6, Huang 6, Lee 5, Arana 5, Lao 3, Faundo 2, De Guzman 2, Afoakwah 0, Macasaet 0.
Quarterscores: 19-15, 45-23, 68-37, 99-56
