UAAP: La Salle sweats out OT win over UST to push streak to 5

Kevin Quiambao and the La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–La Salle extended its blistering winning streak in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament to five by handing University of Santo Tomas a 94-87 overtime loss on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Kevin Quiambao had a career-high 29 points that came with nine rebounds and Mike Phillips finished with another double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Green Archers clinched the solo top spot with a 8-1 record.

“We’re not surprised at how UST played. We always remind ourselves that every team will be out competing against us. Coach Pido Jarencio and the rest of the staff are really doing a tremendous job in making sure they’re a competitive group,” coach Topex Robinson said.

SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 87 basketball

“We made mistakes and it’s an opportunity for us to learn. 26 [turnovers] is no joke. We’ll work on these in preparation against Adamson,” he added.

Raven Gonzales backstopped the two La Salle stars with an 80 percent shooting to 11 points.

“I think the lesson we learned is that we need to keep playing with the same energy from the first to the fourth quarter, because the game doesn’t end after the third quarter,” Quiambao said.

READ: UAAP: La Salle, UP still on top as Final Four scramble heats up

“After the third quarter, we kind of relaxed. Coach reminded us that UST might make a comeback, so we had to be prepared,” he added.

Forth Padrigao and the UST Growling Tigers force overtime against La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The Archers wasted no time showing their superiority over the Tigers with a 14-0 run from the get-go. Quiambao scored 13 of those deflating opening points as La Salle outscored UST in that first frame, 27-14.

UST managed to slow down the Archers somehow to have an even 15-15 output in the second quarter but La Salle continued pummeling the Tigers to gain a 40-20 advantage.

READ: UAAP: UST’s Mark Llemit says it’s ‘back to zero’ in second round

The Tigers kept on fighting and even after losing Mo Tounkara, who had 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, manufacturing an 11-5 run behind the triples of Migs Pangilinan and Kyle Paranada and points off turnovers by Forthsky Padrigao and Nic Cabañero.

With a chance to win the game, Padrigao drove for a layup but was fouled hard by Phillips. The former Ateneo guard, however, split his free throws to send the game to overtime.

UST lost another cog in Christian Manaytay at the start of the extra five minutes where La Salle took all the momentum. Quiambao drained both of his charities to push the Archers’ lead, 89-81, before a layup by Phillips that gave them a lofty 10-point advantage.

Padrigao and Cabañero shot two more, to cut the deficit to six but it was not enough as Phillips split his freebies to seal the result.

Cabañero had a season-best 23 points as well as 12 rebounds while Padrigao added 15 points. Pangilinan had 10 points and five rebounds but all those were not enough to stop the Tigers from absorbing a back-to-back loss to a 4-5 standing.

UST looks for a first victory in the second round when it battles Ateneo on home soil at the Quadricentennial Pavilion on Saturday before the rivalry of La Salle and the Blue Eagles on Oct. 26, also at the Mall of Asia Arena.