INQUIRER Sports

GAMES SUNDAY
(Araneta Coliseum)
2 p.m.—FEU vs NU
4 p.m.—Ateneo vs UST

UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST, WITH its stars finally coming through, downed defending champion De La Salle, 68-62, Saturday for its worthiest showing in the 71st UAAP men’s basketball competition at the Araneta Coliseum.

James Martinez, Paul Zamar and Hans Thiele combined for 42 points and the Warriors took advantage of a spate of injuries that hobbled the Archers, who lost their bid to grab the solo lead over idle Ateneo and Far Eastern.

“One factor was our aggressiveness,” said coach Dindo Pumaren after his Warriors snapped the five-game winning run of his older brother Franz’s Archers while boosting their slate to 4-3.

“We pressured La Salle and took out their half-court game. One factor also was the injuries [that hit the Archers]. But I’m so proud of the boys, everything that we talked about came out in this game.”

Earlier, Jay Agbayani and Martin Reyes teamed up in the final quarter as University of the Philippines halted a five-game skid with a 76-68 victory over Adamson.

Both the Maroons and the Falcons wrapped up their first-round campaigns with 2-5 records.

The Archers, who dropped to third place at 5-2, clearly lost their focus after freak accidents immediately put three La Salle starters out of commission in the first half.

The biggest casualty was sophomore guard Simon Atkins, who was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital after hitting his head hard on the floor following a charging foul from UE’s Rudy Lingganay early in the game.

Team officials said that Atkins, who was taken out of the playing court in a stretcher, remained under observation even after a CT scan and neurology tests showed “normal [results] as of now.”

La Salle representative Bro. Bernie Oca said Atkins, according to the doctors, suffered a “whiplash injury,” and needs to remain in the hospital.

The incident, which occurred with both teams still scoreless at the 8:15 mark of the first quarter, stalled the game for almost five minutes.

Less than two minutes later, La Salle center Marko Batricevic, who just recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, twisted his right knee after he slipped and sat out the rest of the game.

Forward James Mangahas also was sidelined late in the first half after spraining his left ankle. Rico Maierhofer later limped out of the court late in the game after banging his left knee against Thiele.

Martinez rebounded from a scoreless outing by knocking down 15 of his 19 points from beyond the arc, lifting the Warriors ahead by as many as 16 points, 62-46, at the end of the third quarter.

Zamar also stepped up in key stretches to finish with 12 markers in just 15 minutes of action. Thiele added 11 for last year’s losing finalists.

The scores:
First Game
UP 76—Agbayani 20, Co 15, Reyes 15, Lopez 11, Astorga 8, Sorongon 4, Marfori 2, Braganza 1, Sison 0, De Asis 0, Hipolito 0.
ADAMSON 68—Lozada 16, Cañada 16, Colina 15, Galinato 10, Nuyles 3, Gonzalgo 3, Yambot 2, Santos 2, Agustin 1, Olalia 0, Margallo 0, Gorospe 0.
Quarters: 20-20, 43-33, 55-55, 76-68

Second Game
UE 68—Martinez 19, Zamar 12, Thiele 11, Lee 7, Llagas 6, Reyes 4, Espiritu 4, Lingganay 3, Arellano 2, Noble 0, Etrone 0.
LA SALLE 62—Mangahas 14, Revilla 10, Casio 9, Villanueva 8, Barua 6, Bagatsing 4, Batricevic 3, Maierhofer 3, Walsham 2, Malabes 2, Webb 1, Atkins 0.
Quarters: 19-15, 39-31, 62-46, 68-62