UAAP: Archers sweep second round, secure twice to beat advantage with win over Tigers 

The De La Salle Green Archers thwarted the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 69-64, completing their second round sweep of the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament, Saturday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

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

Backed by frenetic defense and strong finishes at the hoop, Jeron Teng, Norbert Torres and Jason Perkins carried the Archers during a 23-7 run spanning the middle quarters. UST rallied back behind Karim Abdul and Aljon Mariano in the fourth, narrowing DLSU's lead to 58-55, but a lack of late game execution, plus Kevin Ferrer fouling out, left the Tigers without many options in the endgame.

The Archers rode a seven-game winning streak to finish at 10-4, tying the NU Bulldogs and FEU Tamaraws. The quotient tiebreaker thus awards the Bulldogs the first seed in the playoffs, while the Archers and Tamaraws wind up at second and third, respectively, facing off in a virtual best-of-three. Meanwhile, the Tigers couldn't maintain their three-game winning streak, 7-6, and will face the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Wednesday in a do-or-die match for the last ticket to the postseason.

Jeron Teng led his team with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Norbert Torres also racked up a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists. Almond Vosotros managed 11 points despite missing all 11 three-pointers and going 4-of-18 from the field overall.

"There wasn't really any adjustment," said DLSU head coach Juno Sauler. "We kept working on the things we needed to work on." It was an understatement for an assistant thrust into the head coaching position just a month before the season started in July. Though he said he never thought he'd end up here, Sauler felt that his team's second-round sweep has no bearing or advantage over the FEU Tamaraws.

"We take things on a per day basis. We work hard in practice, and hopefully, we're able to bring those things out during the games," said Sauler.

Early on, the Tigers were aggressive going into the lane. Karim Abdul and Aljon Mariano drew and-ones to neutralize Almond Vosotros' midrange touch, 8-6.

As a result, Jason Perkins tallied two personal fouls and was forced to sit. Matt Salem substituted for his fellow rookie and nailed a triple with under five minutes left. Abdul and Jeric Teng stole two more buckets inside, but the Archers called timeout to put an end to that. DLSU bottled up the middle and got buckets off turnovers to take control after the first frame, 15-13.

Strong finishes at the rim by UST began to erode DLSU's momentum, but Norbert Torres was the Archers' stabilizer in the second quarter, scoring six of their first eight points. DLSU soldiered on, and Jeron Teng delivered a 7-0 outburst, punctuated by a transition hoop, to create a 32-25 buffer with under three minutes to play.

With two minutes left, Mariano splashed a triple to get the Tigers back into the game, but it was negated by Jeron Teng and Norbert Torres sparking a 12-3 run. The older Teng ended the drought, mercifully, beating the buzzer for a 37-30 tally at halftime.

After two quarters, Norbert Torres already had 11 points and eight rebounds on a perfect 4-of-4 clip from the field. Jeron Teng matched him with 11 markers and seven rebounds, albeit shooting 4-of-9.


Perkins returned to the floor in the third period and immediately made an impact. He scored or assisted on seven points during an 11-4 opening salvo. The Tigers were limping, unable to get a shot off, though Abdul charities stopped the bleeding with four minutes to play, 48-36.

Abdul's move rallied UST to seek shots at the rim. Three other Tigers scored at the basket for an 11-2 run, trimming the deficit to single digits with 39 seconds left. The Archers, who were fenced out of the paint in the last three minutes, saw their lead dwindle to five points until Thomas Torres banged home a triple at the quarter buzzer, 53-45.

UST continued to whittle away at the lead in the fourth quarter, bullying their way to the free throw line. Mariano and Abdul hauled the Tigers through a 10-5 run, making it a single-possession game for the first time since midway through the second frame. However, it was the closest that the Tigers would get to the promised land. Mariano's shots started to falter while in contrast, Norbert Torres scored his first points since halftime. He would also secure a crucial offensive rebound that ended up in an LA Revilla baseline floater, 64-57, with two minutes left.

The cushion proved to be enough for DLSU. Both teams traded charities and UST would get no closer than four points, when Mariano buried a trey with 18 seconds left.

DLSU shot 26-of-76 (34.2 percent) from the field against UST's 19-of-62 (30.6 percent). Though the Tigers enjoyed a 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) clip from the free throw line (against the Archers' 13-of-17 for 76.5 percent), DLSU had a 21-2 advantage in second chance points.

The Archers won the rebounding battle, 53-41, including 19-9 offensive.

Karim Abdul top-scored for UST with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Aljon Mariano offered 16 points, while Jeric Teng had 10 points. Kevin Ferrer had 12 rebounds to go with five points. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

DLSU 69: Teng 19, N Torres 14, Vosotros 11, Perkins 7, Van Opstal 6, Revilla 6, T Torres 3, Salem 3, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, De La Paz 0

UST 64: Abdul 18, Mariano 16, Teng 10, Bautista 6, Sheriff 5, Ferrer 5, Lo 2, Daquioag 2, Pe 0, Faundo 0

Quarter scoring: 15-13, 37-30, 53-45, 69-64