La Salle-Ecooil secured another trip to the Finals of the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup. The defending champions completed a sweep in the best-of-three semifinal series by routing the University of Perpetual Help System Delta, 108-91, in Game 2 on Tuesday at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
Determined and motivated, the Archers quickly established a 28-13 advantage early on and never allowed their overmatched opponents a chance to recover.
La Salle will now face the winner of the other semifinal series between Wangs Basketball @27 Strikers-Letran and Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda in a best-of-three finale.
Mur Alao scored 12 of his 22 points in the first half, helping the Green Archers extend their lead to 51-36. JC Macalalag, stepping up in the absence of the injured starting guard Evan Nelle, contributed 11 points, while Kevin Quiambao, Bright Nwankwo, and EJ Gollena each added 10 points during the dominant performance.
“This is a platform to showcase and apply what we’ve been learning. We are happy with what we have shown in the playoffs, but we are not contented yet,” said deputy coach Gian Nazario.
Perpetual, which finished the elimination round at No. 3, failed to recover from their sluggish start, eliminating any chance they had of evening the series.
John Abis led the Altas with 21 points, while top gun Cyrus Nitura struggled and only scored four points.
The Scores:
La Salle-Ecooil 108 – Alao 22, Macalalag 11, Quiambao 10, Gollena 10, Nwankwo 10, Austria 9, B. Phillips 9, M. Phillips 8, Nonoy 7, Cortez 5, Escandor 3, Manuel 2, Abadam 2, David 0.
Perpetual 91 – Abis 21, Pagaran 19, Ferreras 19, Razon 11, Ramirez 8, Roque 5, Nitura 4, Sevilla 2, Boral 2, Barcuma 0.
Quarterscores: 30-17, 51-36, 86-59, 108-91.
