LA SALLE OUSTS RELENTLESS ADAMSON, ADVANCES TO UAAP FINALS
By Maxine Louise Lagman
23 November 2016
IT was a hard-win for the top-seeded La Salle Green Archers to defeat the soaring fourth place Adamson Falcons in the game of the Final Four on Wednesday, with a tightly-ended match, 69-64 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Green Archers big man Ben Mbala led the squad with his highlighted dunks in the second quarter of the game, leading to a 10-0 run and put them ahead of the Falcons, 35-28.
However, the Soaring Falcons denied the Archers’ lead in the third period and refused La Salle of an easy win by pushing themselves to regain the lead in the game, 47-45 and kept the Archers at bay until the fourth.
Fortunately, graduating veteran Jeron Teng helped La Salle and turned the game back to their favor and placed Adamson back behind them.
Determined to win the championship title of the UAAP Basketball in his last year in the collegiate league, Teng boosted the Green Archers with a jumper that placed them ahead in the last two minutes of the game, 67-64 lead and soon ended the match with a sweet victory – their road to the finals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Teng had 25 points. His clutch shots in the fourth paid off, with seven of the total 11 points in the fourth came from him. Mbala had a double-double 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Green Archers.
Adamson could have made a comeback in the fourth quarter considering La Salle throwing away 26 turnovers. They could have won the match if only they were able to convert three offensive rebounds in the last minutes of the game, from which they missed a total of nine attempts from the field.
Despite the victory, DLSU Coach Aldin Ayo was disappointed with the performance of the team against Adamson, from which looked really different from La Salle’s display of ‘mayhem’ in their previous games.
“We were not playing our game. That is why I’m hesitant to congratulate them because it was a horrible game for us,” said Ayo.
La Salle will have a chance to carry the championship trophy once again for the first time in three years as they march toward the finals game of the UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament season 79. The Green Archers will have to face the winner of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws- Ateneo Blue Eagles match on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Adamson Soaring Falcons ended their season with a shocking strong performance by ending the season with an 8-6 win-loss record in the elimination round and making it to the Final Four.
Sean Manganti had 13 points while Robbie Manalang had 12 points. Big man Papi Sarr was limited to 11 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons.
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