De La Salle University continued its resurgence from a 2-3 start, defeating University of the East 84-72 for its fourth straight victory and a share of second place in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Unlike their first-round matchup, where the Green Archers needed a massive fourth-quarter rally to edge the Red Warriors 111-110 in overtime, La Salle took the lead late in the first half of this game and maintained it throughout to secure the win.
The victory, La Salle’s sixth in eight games, pushed the Green Archers into a tie for second with University of the Philippines, a game ahead of Adamson University and University of Santo Tomas, both at 5-3.
The Red Warriors, who dropped to 0-9, still posed a major challenge for the resurgent Green Archers, who played without injured starters Kean Baclaan and Mason Amos.
“We know it’s going to be a challenging game. We know that this UE team is always going to give their best every time we play against them. I have to give credit to my guys for really being in control of their emotions, especially when UE started to get close,” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.
Already leading by nine entering the fourth period, the Green Archers extended their advantage to 20 on a 16-5 run fueled by Vhoris Marasigan, Mike Phillips, JC Macalalag, Luis Pablo, Jacob Cortez, and Gian Gomez, 75-55.
The deficit proved too steep for the Red Warriors, who could only cut the lead to seven with 2:43 remaining, 70-77.
“Every game, wala akong personal agenda. Same mindset, same mentality lang to contribute to the team and play my role in the team. Nakikinig lang ako lagi kay coach Topex,” said Pablo, who finished with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting along with seven rebounds.
Phillips also delivered a strong performance with 14 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block, while Cortez added 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds.
La Salle will look to extend its winning streak on Sunday against league-leading National University at the same Pasay venue.
For UE, it was their 15th straight loss dating back to the second round of last season. Precious Momowei logged 38 minutes and four seconds, contributing 20 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and two assists but committing seven turnovers. John Abate also scored 20 points, though 15 of those came in the first half.
UE will welcome back Wello Lingolingo from suspension as they aim to break their skid next Wednesday against struggling Ateneo de Manila University at the same arena.
The Scores:
DLSU (84) – Pablo 16, Phillips 14, Cortez 12, Dungo 9, Macalalag 8, Gollena 8, Marasigan 6, Abadam 4, Gomez 3, Daep 2, Quines 2, Nwankwo 0, Dagdag 0, Melencio 0.
UE (72) – Abate 20, Momowei 20, Cruz-Dumont 8, Robles 7, Despi 6, Caoile 4, Lagat 3, Datumalim 2, Cabero 2, Jimenez 0, Tañedo 0, Mulingtapang 0, Malaga 0.
Quarterscores: 25-19, 43-36, 59-50, 84-72.
