FilOil: Archers drown Pirates to stay undefeated

The De La Salle Green Archers continue to roll in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup eliminations, dispatching the Lyceum Pirates, 70-64, on Friday at the Arena in San Juan.

 

The Archers relentlessly attacked an undersized Lyceum frontline and made their way to the charity stripe throughout the game. Though they trailed heading into the fourth quarter, 48-47, the Pirates' troubles were compounded as their big men began to foul out one by one, and never came closer than four points for the rest of the way.

 

The game was marred by a fight at the 3:40 mark in the final period, when Gabby Reyes took a hard foul from Jerimiah Taladua on a breakaway layup. Reyes got up and said a few words to him before Norbert Torres shoved him from behind. The scuffle was broken up before it escalated, and Torres and Taladua received unsportsmanlike fouls while the La Salle bench was handed a technical foul as well.

 

Robert Bolick, Arnold Van Opstal and Matt Salem from DLSU, as well as John Azores, Shaq Alanes and Wilson Balthazar from Lyceum were tossed from the court for leaving the bench during the encounter.

 

La Salle, the only unbeaten team in Group B, improves to 4-0, while the Pirates (0-4) sink to the Group B basement with the EAC Generals.
 

The Archers went off on a 7-0 run, featuring four points and a slam by Gabby Reyes early in the first quarter, but DLSU's momentum was cut after the Pirates scored four straight, and Yutien Andrada went down while going for a chasedown block. He was carried off the floor.

 

Neither team would score until the final two minutes when the Archers got their penetration game going, and Kib Montalbo, Oda Tampus and Arnold Van Ospstal sliced to the rim. Lyceum had the final say, though, as Ysser Edora nailed a buzzer-beating trey, trailing 13-7 after the first period.

 

The Pirates caught DLSU off-guard in the second quarter, as Tirso Lesmoras and Shaq Alanes connected on triples to build a 10-4 run, knotting the game at 17-apiece. The Archers struggled to score from the field but compensated by drawing contact in the lane, led by Jeron Teng's 5-of-6 clip from the free throw line, leading 27-24.

 

Teng fished the Archers' first bucket on spin move in the lane with under two minutes to play. He traded baskets with Lesmoras, including a beating the buzzer in transition to give DLSU a 31-26 advantage after two quarters.

 

The Pirates were a mere 9-of-32 from the field at halftime (28 percent). The Archers shot even worse, making only 6-of-25 (24 percent). However, DLSU stayed afloat thanks to making 19-of-28 free throws (68 percent) while Lyceum was just 4-of-6 from the stripe.

Lyceum stayed alive in the third with three-pointers from Lesmoras and Dexter Zamora, while the Archers pressed on with their advantage on the block, 42-36. The fouls from the previous quarters began to take its toll on the Pirates, as big man Daniel Garcia fouled out early in the period.

 

The quarter plodded on as both teams reached the penalty mark and traded shots from the charity stripe. The Archers stretched the lead to 10 points on charities by Matt Salem, 46-36, but the Pirates got the upper hand for their knack of forcing turnovers and racing in transition. Lyceum ended the quarter with an 11-2 run, capped by drives by Zamora and Lesmoras, to trail 48-47 after three quarters.

 

The Pirates' frontline dwindled in strength in the fourth quarter as John Azores and Vergel Evangelista also fouled out early. As a result, the Archers strung together a 12-6 run, capped by Teng's and-one halfway through the quarter, 60-53. The Archers would protect the lead for the rest of the way, keeping the lead out of the Pirates' reach.

Last UAAP season's Rookie of the Year Jeron Teng tallied a game-high 19 points, 13 of those coming from free throws. Frontline players Norbert Torres and Jason Perkins combined for 19 points and 22 rebounds, while starting point guard Thomas Torres scored eight.

Dexter Zamora led Lyceum with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists, though he also had six of his side's 17 turnovers. Tirso Lesmoras added 15 points, as the only other Pirate in double-figures.

Both sides shot poorly, under 34 percent from the field, but the Archers benefited from a whopping 56 free throws, compared to only 18 attempted by the Pirates.  - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

DLSU 70 - Teng 19, N. Torres 10, Perkins 9, T. Torres 8, Reyes 7, Van Opstal 5, Tampus 4, MOntalbo 2, Bolick 2, Paredes 2, Salem 2, Dela Paz 0, Andrada 0

LPU 64 - Zamora 18, Lesmoras 15, Azores 7, Taladua 6, Edora 6, Alanes 6, Soliman 4, Francisco 2, Evangelista 0, Garcia 0, Lacastesantos 0, Ambohot 0

Quarter scoring: 13-7, 31-26, 48-47, 70-64