Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ben Mbala vowed to bounce back after his poor performance in a 76-70 loss to Ateneo in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball Finals.
And Mbala stayed true to his word and played like how a two-time MVP should in the Green Archers’ 92-83 comeback win on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7 Cameroonian finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and four blocks four days after he was held to career-lows eight points and seven field goal attempts.
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Mbala was part of the La Salle five on the floor that sparked the team’s fightback from 21 points down in the second quarter, and it all started with a vicious dunk.
His throwdown triggered a 10-0 La Salle run that helped chop Ateneo’s lead down to single-digits, 51-42, at the half.
“I say we just stick together. We saw some of our players down but we didn’t give up,” Mbala said after La Salle forced a winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday.
“We just kept believing because we’ve been here before. We just really stick together and did what coach told us to do which is to play defense,” he added.
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The only thing that slowed Mbala down was a case of cramps and fortunately for him and the Archers, he went down just as the final buzzer sounded.
“In the fourth, I was already cramping up. I just wanted to be there for the team and luckily, I was able to finish the game,” said Mbala, who logged a game-high 34 minutes.