La Salle nears Filoil quarterfinals, downs UE

De La Salle moved one step closer to the quarterfinals after stopping University of the East, 71-62, in the group stage of the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup Friday at the tournament’s namesake arena.

The Green Archer’s 5-0 record moved them to the top of Group A away from 4-0 teams Ateneo and Mapua, while the Red Warriors dropped to 1-3 after losing their third straight game.

Mark Dyke, who is returning to La Sallet this season after skipping the previous one, flirted with a double-double to lead the Green Archers with 18 points and nine boards.

La Salle banked on its rebounding edge, 49-36, to slowly pick UE apart while shooting at a methodical 28-of-63 clip.

Dyke said they are using the Filoil tournament to improve on what they have and see what mistakes they could fix before the start of the UAAP season.

“This is a good opportunity for us to correct our mistakes because it’s better that we see them before the UAAP starts,” said Dyke in Filipino.

Taane Samuel had a similar stat line to Dyke as he finished with 12 points and nine boards while Justine Baltazar put up 11 points, seven boards, and two blocks.

Alvin Pasaol had 20 points, on 7-of-20 shooting, with five boards and two steals for the Red Warriors.

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