Archers defang Tigers for solo second

Manila, Philippines - De La Salle University towed University of Santo Tomas (UST) to its worst shooting expedition from down town before pulling off a gutsy 61-53 victory yesterday in the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.

The Archers contained UST’s outside gunners, limiting the Tigers to a measly 6-of-23 clip beyond the arc while haplessly yielding the paint against the taller bigs of La Salle, which ruled the inside scoring (32-20) and rebounding (42-35) departments.

“Our gameplan is to play defense above the three-point area and we executed well,” La Salle coach Dindo Pumaren said after La Salle moved up to solo second with a 4-2 record. “Our composure was there and we were able to make some stops.”

La Salle capped its game-long defensive brilliance by limiting UST hotshots Jeric Teng and Jeric Fortuna to just a basket each as they muffed all their attempts from rainow country.

Jovet Mendoza typified the Archers’ inside dominance, scoring 12 points off the bench, including an uncontested putback that gave La Salle its biggest lead at 41-22 with 7:12 left in the second period.

Back-to-back triples by Clark Bautista highlighted a 19-6 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to put UST within 41-47. But Maui Villanueva unloaded five straight points, including a three-point play with 8:03 to restore La Salle’s twin-digit advantage, 51-41.

Chris Camus responded with five consecutive points of his own laced by an and-one opportunity to push UST closer, 46-51, with 7:11 left.

Another Bautista triple to counter two Mendoza freebies made it 49-53 before Villanueva, Yutein Andrada and rookie Luigi Dela Paz bailed La Salle out of danger with a 6-0 endgame blitz with 1:37 left and UST still missing its outside shots.

Dela Paz and fellow newbie Almond Vosotros also played well for La Salle, combining for 16 points while Villanueva added 8 markers and hauled down 9 rebounds.

Bautista led UST with 18 points on a shaky 5-of-12 sniping from three-point land while Camus had 13.


The Scores:

DLSU 61 – Mendoza 12, Vosotros 8, Dela Paz 8, Villanueva 8, Atkins 7, Tolentino 6, Andrada 6, Tampus 2, Paredes 2, Marata 2, Webb 0, Ferdinand 0.

UST 53 – Bautista 18, Camus 13, Mariano 8, Afuang 6, Pe 4, Teng 2, Fortuna 2, Daquioag 0, Marquez 0, Aytona 0.

Anthony Divinagracia, UAAP Sports