3 October 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – De La Salle University proved they don’t need a coach like Aldin Ayo to win their games as they crushed University of Santo Tomas to the ground, 99-72, Wednesday in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Now under the coaching of Louie Gonzales, Ayo’s assistant before, the Green Archers exhibited a full-blast performance inside the court from the get-go that left the young pack of Tigers behind.
Veteran Aljun Melecio showed the way for La Salle in the first half as he exploded 17 of his 19 points in the first half that lifted the Green Archers to a 54-34 advantage.
The Tigers slowly trimmed away the deficit to 15, but the gritty Archers kept their defense strong and pushed for a better outing on their offense that helped them stretch their advantage to 21 points once again, 70-49.
La Salle’s incredible defense led them to outrebound UST, who was without its big man Steve Akomo due to food poisoning.
DLSU eventually sealed the deal after leading by as much as 30 points in the game, 96-66.
Justine Baltazar led La Salle with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds on top of three blocks, while Andrei Caracut and Santi Santillan combined for 24 markers.
Jollo Go was superb in the three-point line and finished with 11 points as La Salle lifted their record to a 3-2 slate.
On the other hand, Renzo Subido led UST with 16 points, while Marvin Lee and Zach Huang had 13 markers each as the Tigers absorbed their third consecutive loss for a 1-4 win-loss card.
The Scores:
LA SALLE 99 – Baltazar 22, Melecio 19, Caracut 13, Santillan 11, Go 11, Serrano 10, Bates 6, Manuel 5, Dyke 2, Capacio 0, Corteza 0
UST 72 – Subido 16, Lee 13, Huang 13, Caunan 8, Cansino 7, Cosejo 5, Marcos 3, Bataller 3, Mahinay 2, Zamora 2, Agustin 0, Ando 0
Quarter scores: 28-13, 54-34, 71-51, 99-72
Follow the writer on Twitter: @meanxi
Photo Gallery at https://www.facebook.com/Burnsports/
