LA SALLE and National University sustained their strong push to the Final Four by downing separate opponents in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Green Archers stunned Far Eastern University, 63-56, while the Bulldogs turned back the University of the Philippines Maroons, 65-60, to tighten up the race for the last three semifinal berths.
FEU dropped into a share of second with idle University of Santo Tomas at 9-4, while NU and La Salle both stayed in fourth at 8-5.
Only Ateneo—the four-time champion that wrapped up its elimination run at 12-2—has secured the No. 1 spot, which comes with a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four.
Almond Vosotros knocked in 21 points, including a key triple that padded the Archers’ lead, 56-49, after the Tamaraws had trimmed the deficit to just three, 53-49, going into the final two minutes.
“We’re lucky that they’re not a complete team when we faced them,” La Salle coach Gee Abanilla said of the Tamaraws, who played minus suspended players Arvie Bringas and Mark Belo.
The Bulldogs also survived the Maroons’ rally as Ray Parks drilled all but two of his 17 points in the second half.
Meanwhile, commissioner Ato Badolato is set to issue a decision early this week on the game protest University of Santo Tomas formally filed yesterday.
The Tigers questioned two technical decisions in the closing seconds—including the goal tending slapped on UST center Karim Abdul with 5.1 seconds left—of the game they narrowly lost to Ateneo, 68-66, on Saturday.
UST mentor Pido Jarencio also cited a noncall on Ateneo coach Norman Black’s outburst in the last seven seconds where he crossed the court, which could have merited a technical foul.
In juniors’ action, FEU-Diliman stretched its unbeaten run to 12 games with a 76-55 victory over Adamson and Ateneo drubbed La Salle Zobel, 92-80, at Filoil Flying V Arena.
The varsity scores:
First Game
NU 65—Parks 17, Mbe 13, Rosario 10, Javillonar 8, Alolino 8, Roño 3, Singh 2, Labing-isa 2, De Guzman 2.
UP 60—Padilla 14, Silungan 11, Mbah 8, Soyud 8, Ball 7, Manuel 3, Lopez 3, Montecastro 2, Gamboa 2, Asilum 2, Wierzba 0, Hipolito 0.
Quarters: 12-11, 30-21, 51-41, 65-60
Second Game
LA SALLE 63—Vosotros 21, Teng 10, Revilla 8, Andrada 7, Van Opstal 6, N. Torres 6, T. Torres 3, Mendoza 2, Webb 0, Manguera 0, Tampus 0.
FEU 56—Romeo 26, Garcia 10, Mendoza 8, Escoto 5, Cruz 3, Tolomia 2, Hargrove 2, Sentcheu 0, Pogoy 0.
Quarters: 11-12, 26-24, 42-33, 63-56