There were a lot of bodies on the floor on Saturday afternoon, but in the end, the Green Archers remained standing. In a highly physical affair, the De La Salle University were able to grind out an 80-74 win over the Adamson University Soaring Falcons at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“Sabi ni coach, ‘let’s not talk about this game, a win is a win.’ This game was a test of character for all of us. Good thing kasi it helped us a team,” said Ricci Rivero.
This is La Salle’s third straight win after falling to the Ateneo Blue Eagles during their first round finale. Adamson, on the other hand, dropped their second game in three outings.
Ricci Rivero led the Green Archers with 17 points, but it was former University of Visayas Green Lancer Santi Santillan who stepped up, scoring a career-high 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds.
“Sobrang magic bunot si Santi. Nung first nag-start siya, tapos tagal niyang nabangko. Yun pala may plan pala si coach. Santi will do everything to help the team,” added Rivero.
Down by as much as 10 points in the first half, La Salle played off Santillan’s energy in the third frame, going on a 13-6 run highlighted by three straight three-pointers by Kib Montalbo, Ricci Rivero, and Santillan. A floater by Ben Mbala capped the run, giving La Salle their first lead of the game, 50-48, with 4:49 left in the quarter.
“Pinapakita lang namin yung attitude na nakuha namin with every game,” said Santillan.
But Adamson were able to gut it out with La Salle. Behind by as much as eight points, 59-67, with 6:41 left, Robbie Manalang heated up, knocking down back-to-back triples to ignite the Soaring Falcons. A basket by Papi Sarr and free throws by Jonathan Espeleta gave Adamson a 72-71 edge with 2:19 left.
Andrei Caracut was able to answer right back with a triple. Misses by Jerie Pingoy and Jerrick Ahanmisi led to the game-sealing basket by Santillan with 36 ticks remaining.
“Ginawa ko lang yung pinagawa sa akin ni coach. Sipag lang talaga,” added Santillan.
Ben Mbala finished with 15 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks.
Ahanmisi and Sarr scored 17 points each to pace Adamson, with the latter grabbing 12 rebounds. Espeleta added 12 markers but committed four turnovers, all in the third frame.
La Salle look to continue their run on Wednesday, October 25, against the University of the East Red Warriors at 2:00pm, while Adamson take on the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on the same day at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
DLSU 80 – Rivero R. 17, Santillan 16, Mbala 15, Montalbo 10, Rivero P. 7, Melecio 5, Tratter 5, Caracut 3, Baltazar 2, Go 0.
ADU 74 – Ahanmisi 17, Sarr 17, Espeleta 12, Manalang 11, Hill 8, Lojera 3, Manganti 2, Ochea 2, Bernardo 2, Pingoy 0, Zaldivar 0, Mustre 0, Chua 0, Frias 0
Quarterscores: 13-17, 35-35, 58-54, 80-74.
