In their second showdown of the season, the De La Salle University Green Archers did not let up this time around, rallying back late against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and eking out a thrilling 79-76 win, Sunday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
La Salle will face the Adamson Soaring Falcons in the semifinals on Saturday, November 18, while Ateneo take on the FEU Tamaraws on Sunday, November 19. Both the Green Archers and the Blue Eagles will hold a twice-to-beat advantage.
“Actually, it will be easy for us because there is going to be a stepladder before we play Adamson, Adamson will have to play FEU. We still have the twice-to-beat. But since it’s La Salle-Ateneo, we’re not going to back down, we’re just going to compete,” admitted second-year Green Archers coach Aldin Ayo.
This is Ateneo’s first loss of the season, forcing a Final Four format in the playoffs. And this would not have been possible without La Salle’s skipper Kib Montalbo.
“He is our co-captain. Whatever he does, I am going to support him. Ang pagkakamali ng isa, pagkakamali ng buong team,” said Ayo about Montalbo.
Montalbo, who had made the crucial turnover during Ateneo’s 76-75 win over La Salle last October 8, knocked down the go-ahead floater off an Isaac Go turnover with 40.3 seconds remaining to put La Salle up, 77-76.
A miss by Anton Asistio from downtown eight seconds later gave the Green Archers a chance to extend their lead. However, Ricci Rivero was called for an out-of-bounds violation with 12.6 seconds left.
Off a timeout, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin drew up a beautiful inbound play that resulted in Go being freed up underneath. However, Go hesitated and missed the short stab. Free throws by Ricci Rivero extended the lead to three, followed by a block of Asistio’s attempt to seal the win.
“We got lucky in the end game, especially Isaac Go’s semi hook. It was uncontested. Luckily it did not go in. I have to commend the players for their effort, for sticking to the game plan especially during the end game,” Ayo recalled.
Leading Most Valuable Player candidate Ben Mbala played his heart out in the contest, finishing with 28 points, 19 rebounds, six steals, and six blocks. Ricci Rivero added 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
A controversial call proved to be the rallying point for La Salle with 2:05 left.
A missed backing violation on Matt Nieto led to a Vince Tolentino basket, giving the Blue Eagles a 76-69 lead and drawing the ire of Aldin Ayo, who threw off his jacket in frustration. It fired up the Green Archers, as they then went on an 8-0 run to gain the lead. Abu Tratter, Mbala, and Ricci Rivero contributed to the rally capped by the Montalbo triple.
Thirdy Ravena led the Blue Eagles with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Matt Nieto chipped in 12 markers. Go added 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists off the bench.
The Green Archers actually shot worse from the field compared to the Blue Eagles. But La Salle were able to negate this by going to the foul stripe 29 times compared to just 19 for the league-leaders, while forcing Ateneo to commit 22 errors.
The Scores:
DLSU 79 – Mbala 28, Rivero R 21, Tratter 8, Santillan 7, Melecio 6, Montalbo 6, Go 3, Caracut 0, Rivero P 0, Baltazar 0, Paraiso 0
ADMU 76 – Ravena 15, Go 13, Nieto Ma 12, Verano 9, Mendoza 7, Asistio 6, Tolentino 6, Ikeh 4, Porter 3, Nieto Mi 1, Mamuyac 0, Black 0
Quarterscores: 17-22, 37-35, 54-63, 79-76
