The Green Archers overcame a 16-point 3rd quarter deficit to edge out the Mapua Cardinals 102-95 to remain unbeaten in the FilOil tournament yesterday.
Aljun Melecio led the team with 25 points on 5 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc. The frontline of Taane Samuel, Santi Santillan and Justine Baltazar added 22, 13 and 12 points respectively while combining for 32 rebounds.
Despite a slow start and trailing for the most part of the match, the team remained unfazed and continued to execute their game plan. Cutting Mapua’s lead to just one entering the final period, La Salle went on a 34-point explosion to seize control and notch their 6th win.
“It’s a character game pero not in the sense na nakabalik kami from a deficit. It’s a character game na yung pine-preach ko na we have to be disciplined, na it will not be easy for us,” said La Salle head coach Louie Gonzalez.
“Nakita yung character namin. Yung approach namin na every game we have to go out there and give our one hundred percent. Hindi kami ganun kalakas, pero if we work, kakayanin namin,” he added.
Tied with Ateneo at the top of Group A, the Green Archers will next face San Beda this coming Monday.
Box Scores:
DLSU 102 – Melecio 25, Samuel 22, Santillan 13, Baltazar 12, Dyke 8, Go 8, Caracut 5, Lim 4, Corteza 2, Capacio 2, Tolentino 2, Manaytay 0, Bates 0
MAPUA 95 – Biteng 34, Pelayo 17, Victoria 11, Lugo 9, Bonifacio 8, Serrano 4, Bunag 4, Jabel 4, Pajarillo 2, Aguirre 1, Nocum 1, Gamboa 0
Quarter Scores: 16-30, 43-47, 68-69, 102-95
Meanwhile in the Milcu Tournament, Mark Dyke continues to show his work as he finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds to lead La Salle past UE 52-40 last Tuesday.
Former NU guard Jordan Bartlett added 9 points while rookie Donn Lim chipped in 8 markers for the Green Archers.
This is the team’s third straight win as they continue to move up the standings in this 10-team competition with a 3-2 record.
Box Scores:
DLSU 52 – Dyke 17, Bartlett 9, Lim 8, Pastor 7, Manaytay 4, Corteza 2, Manuel 2, Tolentino 2, Bongay 1, Cu 0, Alcala 0, Escandor 0
UE 40 – Acuno 12, Sobrevega 8, Conner 5, Amora 5, Guion 4, Manalang 3, Strait 3, Gagate 0, Dimayuga 0
Quarter Scores: 14-16, 24-29, 41-38, 52-40