LA SALLE center Norbert Torres (green) battles UST’s Kevin Ferrer for the loose ball. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
LA SALLE pulled off a surprise second-round sweep to earn a shot at the last semifinal bonus in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Drawing another clutch outing from Jeron Teng, the Green Archers downed the University of Santo Tomas Tigers, 69-64, to wrap up their elimination run at 10-4 and forge a winner-take-all match for the twice-to-beat advantage against Far Eastern University.
“We never thought of it,” coach Juno Sauler said of the Archers’ perfect 7-0 run in the second half of the eliminations. “There wasn’t really any adjustment. It’s what we did right from the start. It just took time working on what we need to work on.”
The Archers wound up in a three-way tie on top with National University and FEU, but the Bulldogs clinched the No. 1 spot and the first semifinal bonus due to a superior quotient.
Teng unloaded 19 points, the last four inside the final 54.2 seconds that helped the Archers quell the Tigers’ late surge.
UST fell into a share of fourth place with idle Ateneo at 7-6 and the two squads, both finalists last season, will dispute the last Final Four berth on the last day of eliminations on Wednesday. The winner will advance against the Bulldogs in the semifinals.
The Archers and the Tamaraws will clash in the other semifinal duel, making their playoff for the Final Four bonus next weekend a start of a virtual best-of-three duel.
Teng finished with a double-double by also grabbing 11 boards, while Norbert Torres came out big with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Earlier, University of the East snapped a four-game losing skid with a 77-60 drubbing of Adamson in a battle of eliminated teams.
Juniors action
In juniors action, the NU Bullpups clinched an outright championship slot after completing a 14-0 elimination sweep as Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena bagged the Most Valuable Player award.
John Cauilan (23 points, 13 rebounds), Hubert Cani (21 points, 6 assists) and Mark Dyke (18 points, 20 rebounds) led the Bullpups past the Blue Eaglets, 82-81, in overtime.
The Eaglets finished with a second-best 11-3 card and will hold a twice-to-beat edge in the stepladder semifinals.
Ravena bagged the top individual plum after amassing 79.57 statistical points (SPs) with averages of 18.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Cheerdance up
Meanwhile, the league takes a break from basketball action as the cheerdance competition gets going today at Mall of Asia Arena.
University of the Philippines will vie for a fourth straight crown in the blockbuster event where FEU, NU and UST have also been tagged as favorites.
NU hopes to finally nail the top plum after an overhaul of its program this season.
“That’s our mission, to join the best of this 19-year-old cheerdance league,” said NU assistant coach Gabby Bajacan.
The scores:
First Game
UE 77–Mammie 24, Galanza 17, Olivares 11, Casajeros 8, Alberto 7, Jumao-as 6, Santos 2, Noble 2, Pujante 0, Javier 0, Hernandez 0, Flores 0.
ADAMSON 60–Trollano 15, Monteclaro 10, Iñigo 6, Cabrera 6, Brondial 6, Agustin 6, Cruz 5, Sewa 3, Petilos 2, Abrigo 1, Garcia 0, Cabigas 0.
Quarters: 11-13, 43-38, 62-55, 77-60
Second Game
LA SALLE 69–Teng 19, N. Torres 14, Vosotros 11, Perkins 7, Van Opstal 6, Revilla 6, T. Torres 3, Salem 3, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Dela Paz 0.
UST 64–Abdul 18, Mariano 16, Teng 10, Bautista 6, Sheriff 5, Ferrer 5, Lo 2, Daquioag 2, Pe 0, Faundo 0.
Quarters: 15-13, 39-30, 53-45, 69-64