The Phillips bros took turns in pounding Builders Warehouse-University of Santo Tomas, powering EcoOil-De La Salle University to a dominant 112-82 win to open their 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup campaign, Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Michael, a member of the UAAP Season 84 Mythical Team, got 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field with 13 rebounds and three blocks while his older brother Benjamin tallied 16 points on a 7-of-11 clip to go with eight rebounds.
“To be honest, coming into this game I was kind of worried because we’ve been playing with just nine to 10 guys,” said Green Archers head coach Derrick Pumaren as Evan Nelle, Deschon Winston, and Mark Nonoy were not available for the tournament. “But the boys really played hard and ran the things we’re supposed to run, and I think they really played hard.”
EcoOil-La Salle went off right from tip-off, taking a 32-15 lead before stretching the lead to as high as 36 points multiple times in the second half.
The duo of CJ Ausria and Emman Galman got 15 and 10 points, respectively, with the latter also producing eight rebounds and six assists. Joaqui Manuel had a double-double as well with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Debuting Penny Estacio steered the wheel for La Salle with nine assists and 11 points.
It was a crushing debut for the Growling Tigers, who are still without American import Willie Wilson.
Nic Cabanero led the Growling Tigers with 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Sherwin Concepcion had 19 points, four boards, three assists, and two blocks. Meanwhile, rookie Kean Baclaan and senior Bryan Santos chipped in 18 points and 15 rebounds, respectively.
The Scores:
EcoOil-La Salle 112 – Phillips M. 23, Phillips B. 16, Austria 15, Manuel 13, Estacio 11, Galman 10, Buensalida 9, Cortez 6, Escandor 5, Blanco 4.
Buliders Warehouse-UST 82 – Cabanero 21, Concepcion 19, Baclaan 18, Manaytay 7, Santos 5, Herrera 5, Crisostomo 2, Lazarte 2, Jalbuena 2, Manalang 1, Pangilinan 0, Mantua 0, Canoy 0.
Quarterscores: 32-15, 61-30, 95-62, 112-82.
