De La Salle University managed to keep their winning streak alive as they ousted an 80-74 win over the Adamson University in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Green Archers improved to an 8-2 card to deny the Soaring Falcons to share the second place, as they dropped to a 6-4 slate.
Down by as much as 10 points, Santi Santillan’s trey boosted La Salle in the third frame as they took a 13-6 run in the third period, with the help of booming treys from Kib Montalbo, Ricci Rivero and Ben Mbala’s back-to-back baskets to gain their first lead in the match, 50-48.
Rob Manalang took the matter on his own hands with his own triple followed by Jonathan Espeleta’s two freebies to take back a slim lead, 72-71 in the final 2:19 minutes in the game.
However, the defending champions answered back with another trey from Andrei Caracut and a layup by Santillan in the last 36 ticks in the game eventually sealed the win.
“This game was a test of character for all of us and it’s a good thing, because it helped us as a team,” said Rivero.
Rivero paced La Salle with 17 points, while Santillan finished with a career-high double-double record of 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Mbala struggled with a 3-of-10 from the field, but managed to finish with 15 points and 17 rebounds for the win.
Papi Sarr topped Adamson with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Jerrick Ahanmisi added another 17 in the losing effort.
The Scores:
DLSU 80 – Rivero R. 17, Santillan 16, Mbala 15, Montalbo 10, Rivero P. 7, Melecio 5, Tratter 5, Caracut 3, Baltazar 2, Go 0.
