MANILA, Philippines – University of the East clamped down on defense in the end game and stifled La Salle for a pulsating 67-65 victory Saturday in the Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Cup at the Arena in San Juan.
Trailing 61-65 with a minute and half left, the Red Warriors swarmed relentlessly on the Green Archers on every possesion – getting the defensive stops it needed to seize the lead anew en route to the win.
A backcourt trap forced a crucial turnover off the inbound, paved way for a go-ahead basket by Gene Belleza with 13 seconds left then a split from the stripe from Adrian Santos capped pivotal 6-0 run down the stretch.
“We just hung in there. All we needed was just a stop and conversion, then we got an error there in the backcourt,” said head coach Jerry Codiñera.
Four red shirts finished in double digits with Roy Sumang leading the way with 13 points, along with five rebounds.
UE, which improved to 2-3 in group A, had the upper hand from the get go, but squandered its halftime lead in the face of a fiery run by La Salle.
Almond Vosotros, who finished with a game-high 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting from downtown, sparked the Green Archers’ attack in the fourth period with three straight triples.
“We really cannot stop Vosotros, he’s very deceptive,” added Codiñera.
La Salle, which dropped its second loss, even had a 62-54 edge midway the payoff period but could not pull away for good due to countless turnovers.