Michael Phillips scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while La Salle-Ecooil crushed Keanzel Basketball, 144-75, on Thursday to secure its place in the semifinals of the 2024 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Green Archers dominated the game from the get-go and never gave their opponents any chance to make it interesting.
All 14 players fielded by the two-time defending champions scored, with seven tallying double digits as the Green Archers stayed unbeaten in four games.
CJ Austria scored 17 points, while Jonnel Policarpio had 16. Jake Gaspay tallied 13 and EJ Gollena added 12.
Vhoris Marasigan and Raven Cortez had 11 apiece for La Salle-Ecooil.
The team could sweep the six-team, single-round eliminations with another victory against Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda next Thursday.
Only the top two teams after the eliminations will earn outright passage to the semifinals.
“Ayaw namin mawala kami sa sistema. We’re trying to learn every game. Now we move on to NCAA champion San Beda. That’s our focus,” said assistant La Salle coach Caloy Garcia.
La Salle underscored its dominance by taking a 70-39 edge in rebounds, a 41-16 advantage in assists, and a 28-9 edge in steals.
The Green Archers’ trapping defense also earned them 48 fastbreak points while holding Keanzel to 31-percent shooting.
Meanwhile, Centro Escolar University turned to Daniel Marcelo in the fourth quarter to survive a third-quarter meltdown and beat Go Torakku-St. Clare, 73-69, for its second straight win.
Marcelo scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and the Scorpions (2-1) used a 12-2 run in the closing minutes to silence Go Torakku-St. Clare and stay in contention for a semifinal berth.
“We just said na kaya pa. Kaya pa ito. I love my boys up to the point na may times na hindi na namin alam gagawin kasi magulo na, but at the end of the day, I really trust them to do something special sa dulo,” said CEU coach Jeff Perlas.
“Actually, since I came here sa CEU, di pa namin natatalo ang St. Clare sa kahit anong liga. I just said to the team na we really need to win against St. Clare. It’s a big win for us and it gives a chance sa Top 2.”
Franz Diaz led the way for CEU with 18 points and five assists.
Megan Galang eventually finished with 19 points, while Babacar Ndong tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds.
John Mark Estacio and Ryan Isaac Sual had 10 apiece for Go Torakku-St. Clare, which went down to its third straight defeat.
The Scores:
First Game:
CEU 73 – Diaz 18, Marcelo 16, Malicana 7, Serrano 6, Olusesi 5, Gamboa 5, Bernabe 4, Mendoza 4, Puray 3, Darbin 3, Guevarra 2, De Guzman 0, Santos 0.
Go Torakku-St. Clare 69 – Galang 19, Ndong 14, Estacio 10, Sual 10, Cabauatan 9, Burgos 6, Yu 1, Tapenio 0, Pe?aga 0, Decano 0, Angeles 0.
Quarterscores: 22-9, 41-30, 52-52, 73-69.
Second Game:
La Salle-Ecooil 144 – Phillips 22, Austria 17, Policarpio 16, Gaspay 13, Gollena 12, Marasigan 11, Cortez 11, Buensalida 9, Macalalag 7, Abadam 7, Alian 7, David 5, Daja 5, Rubico 2.
Keanzel 75 – Gayosa 17, Panlilio 11, Wong 11, Maurillo 10, Ceniza 6, Baclig 6, Villamor 4, Alina 3, Yambao 3, Alota 2, Ibo 2, Advincula 1, Camay 0, Romero 0.
Quarterscores: 34-14, 63-42, 105-58, 144-75.
