La Salle nears Champs crown

A VENGEFUL La Salle dumped Southwestern University, 64-54, yesterday to move within a win of clinching the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) crown at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Jeron Teng starred with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Archers jumped to a 12-2 start then went up by as many as 22 points, 54-32, in the third quarter to atone for their Final Four loss to the Cobras.

“Last time we really couldn’t get things going, but today in the first three quarters, we were able to get the flow,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler.

The reigning UAAP champions will shoot for the championship of the nationwide varsity tournament at 4 p.m. today also in San Juan.

Thomas Torres helped the Archers get off to a hot start by drilling 12 of his 15 points in the first half while  Norbert Torres had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Cobras sliced the Archers’ 19-point  advantage to nine at 61-52 in the final quarter but a Thomas Torres three-point play  stopped the rally, 64-52, with 78 seconds to go.

The Archers pulled off the victory despite the limited play of injured key cogs Arnold Van Opstal (hip contusion), Almond Vosotros (sprain), Matt Salem (back spasm) and Kib Montalbo (dislocated elbow).

In a benefit juniors game earlier, Tiong Lian champion Hope Christian High School posted a 77-72 triumph over a La Salle Green Hills side that played minus World slam dunk champion Kobe Paras, who left for the US to accept a basketball scholarship.

“He’ll be studying in Indiana,” Benjie Paras, still the PBA’s only rookie MVP, said of his 16-year-old son.

The 6-foot-5 Paras drew international interest after bagging the slam dunk crown in the side event of the Fiba 3×3 Under-18 World Championship last September.

The scores:
LA SALLE 64—Teng 18, T. Torres 15, N. Torres 10, Reyes 9, Bollick 5, Perkins 4, Dela Paz 3, Vosotros 0, Montalbo 0, Salem 0, Van Opstal 0, Tampus 0.
SOUTHWESTERN 54—Sanjo 16, Arong 11, Goloran 7, Mohammed 6, Tallo 6, Bregondo 4, Siewe 2, Bautista 2. Holper 0.
Quarters: 21-8, 34-21, 54-32, 64-54