La Salle bounces back from Ateneo loss to defeat FEU
By Maxine Louise Lagman
11 October 2017
The De La Salle University managed to overcome the Far Eastern University to avoid back-to-back losses in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament with a 75-73 win, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, La Salle stayed at second place as they improved to 6-2, while FEU dropped to an even 4-4 slate, barely holding on to the fourth place.
Ricci Rivero led the Green Archers after scoring 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting along with four assists and five steals.
“Like what coach Miggy (Solitaria) said, sabi ng coaches namin just stick to the system. We get our offense through defense talaga and lahat nang nagawa ko from defense siya, from steal or defensive rebound,” said Rivero.
Despite forcing FEU 29 turnovers that led to 23 La Salle points, the Green Archers had 11-for-24 shooting from the foul stripe and has been out-rebounded by FEU, 49-38.
“Isang beses o dalawang beses na may isang player lang na hindi mag-stick sa system, talagang nagkakaroon siya ng impact agad eh,” admitted DLSU assistant coach Miggy Solitaria.
The Green Archers had a 60-49 lead coming into the fourth quarter, when FEU cut the deficit to just two, 67-65.
However, Jolo Go scored five consecutive points to keep La Salle ahead, 72-65 in the final 3:23 minutes.
FEU cut the deficit to one in the final 2:28 minutes of the game, 74-73, but Rivero was lucky enough to hit one of his two freebies to cap off the match.
Ben Mbala added double-double 18 points and 17 rebounds, while Go chipped in 14 points from a 4-of-5 beyond the arc.
Ken Tuffin led FEU with 14 points, while Hubert Cani and Ron Dennison added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Barkley Ebona hauled down 13 rebounds along with eight points.
The Scores:
DLSU (75) – Rivero R. 20, Mbala 18, Go 14, Rivero P. 8, Caracut 7, Santillan 3, Tratter 3, Montalbo 2, Gonzales 0, Paraiso 0.
