LA SALLE slotman Ben Mbala pivots for a shot off Vince Tolentino and Kris Porter of Ateneo in yesterday’s Final Four encounter at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
AUGUST DELA CRUZ
LA SALLE bucked a scoreless outing from main man Jeron Teng as the Green Archers reasserted their mastery over fierce rival Ateneo with a 92-77 thumping last night to forge a finals showdown with Arellano University in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup.
Teng played through an ankle injury and missed all his four shots, but the Archers flashed their depth and got their acts together early to pummel the Blue Eagles for the second time in as many weeks at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
“Credit to Jeron for playing so as not to disrupt our rotation,” said La Salle coach Aldin Ayo. “But we had to adjust and the rest of the team stepped up.”
Team veteran Thomas Torres fired 17 points to lead five players in double digits as the Archers extended their unbeaten run in the preseason tournament to nine games.
The Archers face the Chiefs in the finals on Sunday at 4 p.m. after Arellano bundled out National University with a 94-85 win earlier.
Fleet-footed playmaker Jio Jalalon fired 34 points while Kent Salado had 18 for the Chiefs, who seized control in the second period.
The Chiefs shrugged off fatigue, having played their seventh game in a week.
“I don’t know where the players are getting their energy, but they know we can’t take this tournament for granted,” said Arellano coach Jerry Codiñera.
Zach Nicholls shot 11 points, including three treys, but it was the Chiefs’ ability to limit their turnovers that spelled the difference. Arellano scored 22 points off 20 NU turnovers.
The Eagles came out tougher than their listless performance in a 66-98 loss last May 29.
But the Archers’ suffocating press again threw the Eagles off their rhythm.
“We’ve started embracing the system,” said Torres, referring to the full-court pressure defense implemented by Ayo which worked wonders when the coach led Letran to the NCAA title last year.
Cameroonian center Ben Mbala outplayed Ateneo counterpart Chi Ikeh, finishing with 16 points and 17 boards for the Archers.
Aaron Black paced the Eagles with 24 points in 26 minutes. Ateneo missed coach Tab Baldwin who flew to Europe for the training camp of Gilas Pilipinas.
The scores:
First Game
ARELLANO 94—Jalalon 34, Salado 18, Nicholls 11, Flores 7, Enriquez 6, Gumaru 6, Canete 5, Meca 4, Viloria 3, Holts 0, Cadavis 0, Gupilan 0, Aguilar 0.
NU 85—Aroga 24, Morido 18, Abatayo 11, Mosqueda 9, Diputado 6, Go 6, Salim 5, Yu 2, Aquino 2, Labing-isa 2, Salem 0, Gallego 0, Cauilan 0, Lastimosa 0.
Quarters: 20-19, 48-39, 67-60, 94-85
Second Game
LA SALLE 92—Torres 17, Mbala 16, Melecio 15, Tratter 14, Caracut 13, Montalbo 7, Go 6, Gob 2, Rivero 2, Teng 0.
ATENEO 77—Black 24, Ravena 10, Wong 8, Porter 7, Tolentino 7, Ikeh 6, Go 4, Asistio 3, Nieto 2, Babilonia 2, Allmond 2, Mendoza 2, Banzon 0.
Quarters: 27-14, 48-40, 66-56, 92-77