La Salle staves off UE run for solo third; Teng scores 20

Teng carries La Salle to fifth win. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Jeron Teng scored a game-high 20 points and De La Salle needed a big fourth quarter to fend off pesky University of the East, 72-64, in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Thomas Torres scored seven of his 15 points in the second quarter where the Green Archers took an 11-point halftime lead before the Red Warriors made their run in the second half.

“Hard-fought game. Even if we had the lead in the first half, UE fought back start of the second [half] I think it was an 8-0 run,” said DLSU head coach Juno Sauler. “It’s a good thing that the players were able to get their composure back and finish the game well.”

“We lacked the energy for today’s game and UE just showed more effort with their press and fastbreaks,” said Teng, who also grabbed six rebounds.

The Archers gained solo third place with a 5-4 taking a half game lead over the idle Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Emil Palma and Chris Javier had 14 points apiece for UE, which slipped to seventh place at 3-6, with the graduating big man also collecting 12 rebounds and two blocks.

Von Batiller, the surprising UE rookie, has surprisingly been a non-factor over his team’s last several games. He finished with nine points but again had a miserable shooting from the field going 3-of-11 in 28 minutes of action.