Forward Jason Perkins (10) sparked La Salle’s second-half charge. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
De La Salle University rose from 15 points down to shock fierce rival Ateneo, 80-76, as both teams wrapped up their campaign in the first round of eliminations in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
Joshua Torralba made the wide open go-ahead 3-pointer, 77-76, with 33.9 seconds left before Jeron Teng buried two clutch free throws with 10.6 ticks to go that gave the Green Archers a three-point cushion.
“It was a hard-fought game between the two teams,” DLSU head coach Juno Sauler told reporters after the Green Archers tied their arch rivals in third place in the standings with a 4-3 record.
Kiefer Ravena, the Blue Eagles superstar, misfired on a potential game-tying basket with his contested step back 3-pointer hitting the back iron.
Chibueze Ikeh gave Ateneo, which blew a 35-20 lead in the first half, a 76-74 edge with 1:27 remaining before Torralba’s left corner triple.
La Salle forward Jason Perkins spearheaded his team’s fightback in the second half with eight of his 13 points coming in the third quarter while Thomas Torres nearly had a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Green Archers also drew a 10-point, 10-rebound effort from Prince Rivero and an all-around performance from Teng, who collected a team-high 18 points that went with six rebounds and five assists.
The Archers frustrated the Eagles inside the final one minute and 26 seconds of the game with Ravena putting up tough shots with defenders all over him. The graduating guard did come away with 19 points but he shot just 7-of-24 from the field.
Ikeh added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Ateneo, which is no stranger to blowing big leads.
The Blue Eagles squandered a 16-point lead they built late in the third quarter in a 68-58 setback at the hands of the league-leading University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers eight days ago.
The Scores:
LA SALLE 80 – Teng 18, Torres 15, Perkins 13, Rivero 10, Torralba 9, Caracut 6, Tratter 4, Navarro 3, Muyang 2, Sargent 0.
ATENEO 76 – Ravena 19, Ikeh 13, Capacio 10, Gotladera 8, Pessumal 8, Tolentino 7, Pingoy 6, Apacible 2, Babilonia 2, Ma. Nieto 1, Cani 0.
Quarters: 13-25, 36-46, 61-61, 80-76.