Tigers hold off Archers

JERIC Teng and the Growling Tigers shut the door on brother Jeron and the Green Archers in Game 1. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

University of Santo Tomas inched closer to another record-setting romp.

Just days after eliminating the top-seeded team, the Growling Tigers hacked out a 73-72 decision  over the second-ranked La Salle Green Archers yesterday to move within a win of becoming the first fourth seed to capture the UAAP men’s basketball championship.

The Tigers survived a gripping last 29 seconds where they turned the ball over before UST center Karim Abdul came down at the other end to block the potential game-winner by LA Revilla, who grabbed the rebound after a miss by teammate Almond Vosotros.

“I was shocked; I didn’t realize that we won,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio after his spunky Tigers snapped the Green Archers’ nine-game winning streak to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series in front of a massive crowd of 20,525 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Almond was wide open; he had a good look,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler. “But that’s the ball game, if you make it, you make it. If you miss, then that’s it. We had a chance with the rebound, so it was just breaks of the game in the last possession.”

Abdul shone in the clutch along with Kevin Ferrer and Jeric Teng as the Tigers regained control after the Archers stormed back from as many as 17 points down, 4-21, early in the game.

“There’s no substitute for experience,” said Teng. “We experienced this before [in last year’s Finals] against Ateneo. Thankfully, the breaks of the game went our way. La Salle almost won.”

The Tigers, who last won the crown during Jarencio’s rookie year as coach in 2006, will shoot for a championship sweep on Saturday also at the Big Dome.

Ferrer knocked in a huge triple from the top of the key with 41.6 seconds left that gave the Tigers a 73-69  lead after the Archers advanced within a point, 70-69.

“He’s been really focused,” Jarencio said of the gangly Ferrer, who also starred in the Tigers’ semifinal upset of the top-ranked National University Bulldogs.

Ferrer shot perfectly from the field in the first half to lead all scorers at the break with 14 before finishing with a game-high 20 points, 15 coming from three-point range.

Abdul wound up with 19 points, 12 rebounds and a couple of blocks for the Tigers, who dropped an 18-0 bomb in the first quarter to take an early 18-2 advantage.

Teng also unloaded 17 points, including a key five-point cluster at the start of the fourth period that gave the lead back to the Tigers, 55-54, from a 50-54 deficit.

“Coming into this game, we were relaxed,” said Teng. “We knew what to do.”

Sauler acknowledged that the Tigers are clearly on a roll late in the season.

“It’s not really their championship experience; they’ve been playing really well in their last three games,” Sauler said of the Tigers, who survived elimination thrice to reach the title round.

Vosotros scored 20 points and Teng’s younger brother Jeron had 15 markers, including a three-point play with 29.1 seconds left that pushed the Archers within a point, 73-72.

Earlier, National University forged a title decider as the Lady Bulldogs ripped the Lady Archers, 67-52, in Game 2 of the women’s basketball Finals.

Andrea Tongco buried 23 points and Afril Bernardino had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds for the top-ranked Lady Bulldogs, who controlled the second half after outscoring the Lady Archers, 18-9, in the third period.

The Lady Archers, who had hoped for a title sweep, took Game 1 last week with a 72-48 rout of NU, which is backed by Dioceldo Sy.

The scores:

First Game (Women)

NU 67—Tongco 23, Bernardino 14, Gupilan 10, Abriam 7, Bonleon 6, Paig 3, Sison 2, Escoto 2, Seno 0, Antiquiera 0.

LA SALLE 52—Piatos 14, Garcia 8, Santos 7, Abaca 6, Melendres 5, M. Ong 4, A. Ong 4, Corcuera 2, Claro 2, Ramos 0.

Quarters: 18-17, 31-30, 49-39, 67-52

Second Game (Srs)

UST 73—Ferrer 20, Abdul 19, Teng 17, Sheriff 6, Daquioag 4, Bautista 3, Mariano 2, Lao 2, Pe 0, Lo 0.

LA SALLE 72—Vosotros 20, Teng 15, Van Opstal 13, Perkins 11, T. Torres7, Revilla 4, N. Torres 2, Tampus 0, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Dela Paz 0.

Quarters: 23-13, 38-31, 50-54, 73-72