Almost losing it…
In the battle of champions, incumbent UAAP kings
De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers
barely edged out Season 69 titleholders
University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 85-84,
in yet another thriller showdown at the PhilSports Arena,
DLSU main man, JV Casio unleashed 19 points including the crucial two free throws
with around 16 seconds left in the last quarter allowing La Salle to stay afloat, 84-81.
James Mangahas, with 18 points, 14 of which he fired in the second half,
buried an essential shot to give the Archers the upper hand with less than 50 ticks in the last frame.
Meanwhile, Bader Malabes took care of the home run for the Taft-based squad closing the game
with 16 markers highlighted by his differentiating trey from the left untying the knot of 77-all to give DLSU
a three-point cushion, 80-77 with 1:42 left in the game.
The Tigers’ promising rookie, Jeric Fortuna failed to reproduce his magic treys
from their previous game against UP endangering UST’s winning chances after missing two shots
outside the paint with less than 30 ticks remaining in the game.
Powering UST’s challenge, Dylan Ababou raked in 23 points,
including a last-ditch trey that came rather too late putting the Tigers within a point’s range
85-84 as the clock was extinguished.
Meanwhile, Tiger behemoth, Jervy Cruz registered 20 markers and 11 rebounds.
Casio, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the first half, steered the Archers to a 38-34 lead towards the break.
Mangahas kept La Salle’s pace strong in the third frame leading the Archers to an eight-point advantage, 46-38.
Contributing to the Green and White offense, Malabes,
blasted successive treys keeping
UST did not wait any longer firing a fitting response through its combined arsenal of
Cruz, Ababou and Mark Canlas propelling the Tigers to a point deficit, 64-63.
The tightness of the match was apparent as UST gained the advantage 70-71 in the last frame.
Francis Allera’s outside shot partnered with Cruz’s pump shot stretched UST’s rally to 75-72.
DLSU head coach Franz Pumaren attributed their victory to their big men and the successful limitation of Jervy Cruz remarking,
"My role players really stepped up in this particular game. We did a good job in defending Jervy.
He got only five offensive rebounds.
I think my big guys really played well."
Moreover, Pumaren lauded his team’s composure despite of UST’s rallies saying,
"You can see that in spite of UST making a run, we were composed.
I'm glad we executed down the stretch, we made those crucial free throws."
The win placed
with the University of the East and Far Eastern University.
UST dropped to a 1-2 record.
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