UAAP: Archers buck poor free throw shooting, survive late Tamaraws surge

Led by Jeron Teng's heroics, the De La Salle Green Archers dealt the Far Eastern University Tamaraws back-to-back losses for the first time this season, 75-66, in the second round of the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament, Sunday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Archers move up to 5-4, taking solo third behind the NU Bulldogs in the standings. Meanwhile the Tams have yet to win in the second round, 7-2.

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

FEU, who were undefeated after the first round, lagged considerably for most of the game, falling behind by as much as 22 points to La Salle until they conjured up a 17-4 storm spanning the latter quarters, 62-60. But Teng took control in the last six minutes, scoring six of DLSU's next nine points on fearless drives, 71-62, to finally deflate the Tamaraws.

Last season's Rookie of the Year Teng racked up 16 points and nine rebounds. Jason Perkins led all scorers with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Almond Vosotros added 13 points and five boards for La Salle, who were still without starter Thomas Torres due to the flu.

The Archers avenged a first round meltdown against the Tamaraws, and DLSU head coach Juno Sauler credited it to his team's mental toughness. However, Sauler wasn't in the mood to celebrate after the game despite beating the league's top team.

"I'm not really satisfied with how we played," he said, citing that his team needed to do a better job on defense and taking care of the ball.

"We still have to do a better job all throughout [the] 40 minutes," he said.

The Archers gave up 17 turnovers to FEU's six, handing the Tamaraws a 14-4 advantage in turnover points. La Salle also fared poorly at the free throw line, making just 14-of-33 (42.4 percent), while FEU were 12-of-19 (63.2 percent).

The Archers started the game attacking the hoop, countering long bombs by Terrence Romeo and Mike Tolomia. The Tamaraws reached the penalty quickly, conceding an 11-10 lead halfway through the frame as Jeron Teng hit charities after a loose ball foul.

La Salle looked to their big men to take advantage of FEU's weaker front line. Arnold Van Opstal and Jason Perkins bannered a 12-4 run as the Archers posted a 23-14 lead after the first period.

The Tamaraws struggled to establish an offensive rhythm in the second quarter. It was a stark contrast to the Archers, who found ways to put points on the board, especially in transition. Their outside game was also deadly, as Perkins, Almond Vosotros and Matt Salem fired away from downtown, establishing a 43-21 lead.

With under three minutes to play, a baseline jumper by RR Garcia ended a four-minute drought for the Tamaraws. FEU made a late push, taking advantage as La Salle fell in love with perimeter attempts. Terrence Romeo notched two charities following a Roger Pogoy trey to cap a 10-0 comeback.

However in the final seconds, Kib Montalbo drew a controversial foul off Garcia on the break. FEU head coach Nash Racela was slapped with a technical foul for "crossing the court without permission" to protest, and Montalbo was given two free throws. Montalbo split, handing the Archers a 44-33 cushion at halftime.

La Salle converted 17-of-37 (45.9 percent) of their field goals, bannered by Perkins' 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. In contrast, the Tamaraws were 10-of-34 (29.4 percent), including Romeo's 10 points off a 3-of-11 clip.


After the break, the officials belatedly awarded free throws to Vosotros, who also split, off the technical foul on Racela. The miss foreshadowed the Archers' free throw shooting troubles in the frame as Roger Pogoy hustled for the Tams, scoring six of their next eight to slice their deficit down to single digits, 49-41.

La Salle called a timeout to talk things over. Then, at around the 5:20 mark, RR Garcia was called for swinging his elbow at Oda Tampus. Tampus made just one, contributing to a 9-2 rally for the Archers, who made their presence felt inside the paint, 58-43.

Similar to the previous quarter, the Tamaraws charged back into the game with a 7-0 run in the last two minutes, but a put-back by Vosotros with 28 seconds left allowed La Salle to take a 60-50 lead after the third period.

The Tamaraws barreled back into contention in the fourth quarter, fishing for inside points while Perkins picked up his fourth personal foul. After conceding an early layup by Norbert Torres, FEU went on a 10-0 run, punctuated by triples from Mac Belo and Garcia, 62-60.

La Salle called a timeout with six minutes to play, and Jeron Teng looked to tow his team past the Tams. Teng plunged into the lane for strong finishes, scoring thrice to complement another Vosotros trey. Meanwhile, the Tamaraws were firing blanks from beyond the arc and conceded a 9-2 blast, 71-62, with three minutes to play.

The Tamaraws stole two layups, making it a 71-66 game with under a minute to play, until an intentional foul sent Vosotros back to the stripe with 36 seconds to play. The veteran Green Archer made just the first but tracked down his own miss, leading to another pair of charities. He split again, and FEU called their final timeout.

Garcia attempted a quick three after the inbounds, but the ball rimmed out. Van Opstal secured the board and was promptly fouled, and split with 28 seconds left, before La Salle put the last touches on the game.

The Archers finished the game shooting 28-of-67 (41.8 percent) from the field, holding the Tamaraws to just 24-of-71 (33.8 percent). They also led in rebounds, 59-36.

Roger Pogoy came off the bench to lead FEU with 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes of play. Mac Belo notched 16 as well, while securing eight rebounds. Terrence Romeo tallied 12 points, five rebounds and three steals, and shot just 4-of-18 from the field. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

DLSU 75: Perkins 18, Teng 16, Vosotros 13, Van Opstal 9, Salem 6, Montalbo 5, Torres 4, Tampus 4, Revilla 0, Bolick 0

FEU 66: Pogoy 16, Belo 16, Romeo 12, Tolomia 7, Garcia 6, Cruz 4, Inigo 0, Sentcheu 0, Mendoza 0, Lee Yu 0, Jose 0, Dennison 0, Deflinado 0, Aguilon 0

Quarter scoring: 23-14, 44-33, 60-50, 75-66