Photo from Filoil Flying V Sports Facebook account.
La Salle earned a hard-fought win over Adamson, 98-88, in the opener of the 2016 Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup Saturday at Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Jeron Teng powered the Green Archers with 30 points and nine rebounds while sophomore Jboy Gob just missed a double-double 20 points and nine rebounds.
La Salle had to dig deeper in the final minutes to fend off a much-improved Adamson side, which began a new era with revered collegiate coach Franz Pumaren at the helm.
It was a closely contested game before the Archers tightened their defensive screws, applying the chokehold in the form of Aldin Ayo’s merciless full-court press that he brought with him from Letran.
A basket by Teng and a triple from Thomas Torres made it, 92-79, with only 2:16 left.
Though a consensus pick to rule in the 79th Season of the UAAP, La Salle didn’t dominate the way it was expected to against Adamson, a team coming off consecutive seasons of futility.
Ayo, the Archers new head coach, admitted the team is still far from the kind of level it’s capable of reaching with a formidable roster led by graduating star Jeron Teng and Cameroonian import Ben Mbala along with a slew of budding stars in Gob, Andrei Caracut, Aljun Melecio and Ricci Rivero.
“Consistency. If you notice, the players are still not used to the kind of system that we have which traps so everything is new to them,” said Ayo, who officially assumed the position Juno Sauler vacated last December.
“Little by little, they’re absorbing everything. Actually, they already know the system in principle but it’s not yet instinctive. It’s not a habit yet that even if you’re not thinking about it, your body would know what to do,” he added. “And I’m very optimistic because so far, they have a good attitude and they’re working hard.”
La Salle netted 24 points off 33 Adamson turnovers, most of which came in the final frame.
Mbala posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as he outplayed his counterpart Papi Sarr, who only had six points and three rebounds.