La Salle takes life out of UE for 12th straight win

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

De La Salle continued to meet expectations as it toyed with woeful University of the East, 95-66, for its 12th straight win in the UAAP Season 79 seniors’ basketball tournament at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

This season’s title favorites upped its record to 12-0 while the Red Warriors slipped to 2-9 and bowed out of the Final 4 race.

Green Archers head coach Aldin Ayo was proud to see the development of his players, from pure scorers to all-around players.

“Puro star player to, puro to offensive player, puro to tirador,” said Ayo. “Ngayon nagiging well-rounded na, because it’s not all about scoring, they’re doing the little things.”

La Salle grabbed a preposterous 71 rebounds including 34 offensive boards which equaled UE’s total efforts and led to 30 second-chance points.

Ben Mbala once again showed the way for the Green Archers finishing with 26 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks while Jeron Teng added 20 points.

Jason Perkins and Abu Tratter also did their work underneath finishing with 12 and 13 boards, respectively.

Alvin Pasaol was the lone bright spot for UE as he finished with 17 points and grabbed five rebounds.