Dream Game: Don Allado, Archers hit the mark, puncture Eagles

The oldest player on the court showed that he still has game. Once known as "The King Archer," Allado proved that the moniker still fits, setting the tone early, and top-scoring for a De La Salle University Green Archers squad that prevailed 117-104 over their arch-rival Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagle counterparts, Sunday, at the charity event dubbed, "The Dream Game." Looking indefatigable, Allado played a team-high 30 minutes, and came up with 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting, plus seven boards. As a result, he took away Best Player honors, and helped his team to their first win in three such events. In the first-ever Ateneo-La Salle alumni game in 2005, Ateneo won on an Enrico Villanueva triple, 88-85. When the two sides clashed again in 2008, the result was a 90-all draw, as exhibition games do not go into overtime. The Archers led early, 34-20 at the end of the game’s first 12 minutes, but the Eagles managed to rally and knot things at 38-all. That however was as close as they would get, as La Salle closed the half with a 14-2 burst, making it 61-48 at halftime. La Salle would stretch their lead to as much as 24, but the Eagles got a late rally, getting to within single digits with less than half a quarter to play. However, La Salle managed to hold on, coming away with the decisive victory. Mac Cardona added 20 to the Archers’ total, going shooting an 8 of 9 clip from the field, while the overall number one pick in last year’s PBA Draft, JV Casio, scored 13 to go with his four assists. Veterans Renren Ritualo and Mike Cortez had eight points each, along with 10 total rebounds. As the only pure point guard on the Ateneo side, LA Tenorio played a game-high 42 minutes for the Eagles, leading to a double-double of 20 points and 13 assists. Villanueva added 19 points on 50 percent shooting, while Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters teammates Japeth Aguilar and Philippine Cup Finals MVP Larry Fonacier combined for 30. La Salle seemingly could not miss, shooting 52.4 percent from the field as a team. In contrast, Ateneo made just 47.2 percent of their attempts, weighed down by their horrific 4 of 21 clip from downtown. The Blue Eagles tried to compensate by scoring 26 points off 17 Archer turnovers, but they came up far short. - KBK, GMA News The scores: PBA GREEN (117) - Allado 23, Cardona 20, Casio 13, Sharma 12, Arana 9, Maierhofer 9, Yeo 9, Ritualo 8, Cortez 8, Aquino 3, Gaco 3. PBA BLUE (104) - Tenorio 20, Villanueva 19, Aguilar 16, Fonacier 14, Intal 13, Kramer 7, Salamat 4, Baclao 4, Membrere 3, Alvarez 2, Bugia 2. Quarters: 34-20, 61-48, 94-75, 117-104