De La Salle University achieved two significant milestones with their victory over University of the East, avenging their only first-round loss while simultaneously ending the Red Warriors’ five-game winning streak.
The back-to-back title-seeking Green Archers are now the hottest team in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament, securing their fourth straight win by dismantling the Red Warriors, 77-68, in front of 8,890 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night.
With this victory, De La Salle improved to a league-leading 7-1 record, half a game ahead of idle University of the Philippines.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“The players really fought well. They know the experience of losing to UE. We just rekindled that and reminded them that it will take a lot of effort to really beat this well-coached team. Credit to coach Jack. The guys just didn’t give up and kept on fighting,” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.
The game remained tight throughout the first half, but the Green Archers created some separation with a 12-2 run to close the third quarter, with Kevin Quiambao, JC Macalalag, and Vhoris Marasigan all contributing to a 63-54 lead entering the final period.
John Abate helped the Red Warriors close the gap to five points with 3:02 left in the game, bringing the score to 70-65. However, the reigning MVP, Mike Phillips, took over, scoring or assisting on six of the next seven La Salle points, restoring a double-digit lead with just 1:21 remaining at 77-67.
“Ang naalala ko po sa last game even before ‘yung UP game, I just remember nasa dugout po kaming lahat and I could hear the roar of the UE crowd going ang ingay talaga sobrang supportive… Mahirap talaga ‘yun kalaban we knew we really need to come out strong,” said Phillips, who delivered a monster double-double with 27 points and 17 rebounds, along with five assists and two blocks.
Despite being under the weather, Quiambao still made an impact with 10 points and six rebounds, while Macalalag also contributed 10 points. Marasigan shined with nine points and five rebounds, and Joshua David added a steady performance with eight points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
La Salle aims for its fifth consecutive win on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against University of Santo Tomas at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Precious Momowei led UE with 21 points and nine rebounds as the Red Warriors saw their five-game winning streak come to a screeching halt, dropping to 5-3 but still holding onto solo third place.
Abate contributed 11 points and four assists, while Rainer Maga and Gjerard Wilson added nine and eight points, respectively, for the Red Warriors.
Wello Lingolingo was tightly guarded, missing all six of his field-goal attempts and finishing with just two points from a pair of free throws.
The Red Warriors look to return to their winning ways on Sunday against Far Eastern University at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Scores:
DLSU 77 – Phillips 27, Quiambao 10, Macalalag 10, Marasigan 9, David 8, Abadam 6, Ramiro 3, Gollena 2, Gonzales 2, Austria 0, Agunanne 0, Dungo 0.
UE 68 – Momowei 21, Abate 11, Maga 9, Wilson 8, J. Cruz-Dumont 7, Galang 6, Lingolingo 2, Malaga 2, Fikes 2, Mulingtapang 0, H. Cruz-Dumont 0.
Quarterscores: 14-14, 36-37, 63-54, 77-68.
