BEN MBALA DOUBLE-DOUBLE POWERS LA SALLE PAST ADAMSON
By Maxine Louise Lagman
20 September 2017
With Ben Mbala back on court with his squad, the De La Salle University whipped the Adamson University on Wednesday, 85-73 in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
After his stint with the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket, Mbala came back for La Salle and dominated the competition after dropping a career-high 32 points.
He was off a hot start by powering the Green Archers into a 19-3 opening against the Falcons and doubled the lead to end the first quarter at 36-12.
However, coming into the second half, the Adamson Falcons renewed their game strategy and doubled their efforts to make a run after DLSU, 20-7, taking advantage of Mbala staying on the bench.
“The players thought that after the first half, tapos na yung laro,” said Coach Aldin Ayo. “Tendency na kapag lamang na, nagkakanya-kanya. Pero it is a good thing na they acknowledge their mistakes.”
Less than two minutes left on the game, Adamson committed errors and buckled over crucial turnovers to give La Salle too much advantage and eventually seal the win.
Mbala added 10 rebounds and four blocks, while Santi Santillan was the sole double-digit scorer as he finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
On the other hand, Robbie Manalang paced the Falcons wirh 16 points, while Papi Sarr added 12 points and 16 rebounds in the defeat.
The Scores:
DLSU 85 – Mbala 32, Santillan 10, Tratter 9, Rivero P 8, Rivero R 6, Montalbo 5, Caracut 5, Go 3, Baltazar 3, Melecio 2, Gonzales 2.
