UAAP: Archers aim high, shoot down Bulldogs

The De La Salle Green Archers marched into the UAAP Season 76 Final Four with a gritty win over the National University Bulldogs, 57-55, while extending their winning streak to six on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Archers snapped the Bulldogs' five-game winning run, forging a three-way tie atop the league with a 9-4 card and leaving just one last postseason berth up for grabs between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UST Growling Tigers (both at 7-5). DLSU looks to close the season against UST, while National U has a date with Ateneo.

[Review the play-by-play of this game here]

With a minute and change left, Bobby Ray Parks and Jeron Teng met head-on with the game on the line. Parks plunged into the lane for a layup, reclaiming a one-point lead and prompting the Archers to talk things over. Jeron Teng answered by putting back his own miss, 56-55.

A loose ball foul on Jason Perkins, coupled with the Archers forcing the ball out of bounds, left 19 seconds left on the clock. The Bulldogs settled for a baseline jumper by Dennice Villamor, which bounced off the side of the board. National U was forced to foul LA Revilla, who split his charities with 12 seconds left.

Out of timeouts, the Bulldogs pushed the ball up-court. Parks went for a short jumper, which fell short and allowed the Archers to escape with the win.

"When I was taking my free throws iniisip ko lang is I'm gonna do what I do in practice. After practice I do extra free throws, so yun lang yung iniisip ko," said Teng on his clutch performance in the last two minutes.

Teng led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 6-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-13 from the line, while adding seven rebounds. Perkins added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while LA Revilla scored just six points but issued five assists.

After the game, DLSU head coach Juno Sauler said his boys heeded his advice to tighten up on the defensive end. Sauler pointed out that after halftime, they only conceded two more second-chance points.

Though his team has a shot at the top seed in the playoffs, Sauler said he isn't thinking about the postseason race right now. "My aim is just to keep improving everybody and coming out with better mental toughness than they showed in previous games," he said.

Both teams started by deliberately containing the game in the half court. Jeron Teng and Arnold Van Opstal took turns getting points at the rim, while Bobby Ray Parks found holes in the defense to keep an even 8-8 tally. However, defensive breakdowns by the Archers led to three-pointers by Parks and Jeoff Javillonar in the last two minutes, giving the Bulldogs a 14-10 advantage after the first period.

The Archers couldn't get easy looks in the second frame, while Troy Rosario scattered points from inside and out. DLSU trimmed their deficit to two, until National U worked the clock to get a Gelo Alolino trey, 24-19, with three minutes to play. Alolino converted once more from long distance, complementing Emmanuel Mbe down low, to carry a 31-25 lead after two quarters.

At halftime, Teng had posted 13 points, shooting 4-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from the line. Alolino bannered the other side with 10 points on an efficient 4-of-5 mark to that point.

The Bulldogs led in second-chance points (10-4) and turnover points (12-4).


Jason Perkins shouldered the load for the Archers for most of the third quarter, doing damage from outside as well as beneath the rim. National U floundered on offense and saw their lead dwindle, though Parks' bailout shots retained a 41-40 edge with three minutes to play.

The Bulldogs called for time, but DLSU replied with a Perkins turnaround in the paint, bringing his total to 12 points in the frame and giving the Archers a one-point lead. However, National U clung on, as Parks and Dennice Villamor ensured a 45-42 advantage after three quarters.

The Archers were stymied offensively for much of the final period. Alolino meanwhile kept the Bulldogs afloat, opening the period with a long triple, then chasing his own miss for a layup. He later fed Parks on the break for a 52-45 lead with under five minutes left.

Teng and Van Opstal asserted themselves beneath the rim, and a timely put-back by Vosotros cut the lead to two, 52-50. The Bulldogs were iffy offensively and couldn't get the ball to fall through. The Archers pushed the ball off their misses, and National U opted to foul Teng and test him at the line. Teng delivered, nailing four straight charities to seize a 54-52 lead and forcing National U to call a timeout that led to the final sequence.

Both teams shot at 33.3 percent, with the Archers making 20-of-60 and the Bulldogs making 23-of-69. The Archers also made 13-of-33 from the charity stripe (39.4 percent), but it was enough as National U only attempted four, making three.

Bobby Ray Parks tallied 19 points and five rebounds, missing all but one of his seven three-point attempts. Gelo Alolino added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and center Emmanuel Mbe was limited to four points and eight rebounds on 2-of-9 shooting. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

DLSU 57: Teng 21, Perkins 18, Revilla 6, Van Opstal 5, Salem 3, Vosotros 2, Reyes 2, N Torres 0, T Torres 0, Montalbo 0, De La Paz 0, Bolick 0

NU 55: Parks 19, Alolino 15, Villamor 7, Javillonar 5, Mbe 4, Rosario 3, Neypes 2, Rono 0, Khobuntin 0, Javelona 0, Alejandro 0

Quarter scoring: 10-14, 25-31, 42-45, 57-55