The Archers knew they were in for a physical battle against the Stags. They got exactly just that.
Jeron Teng and LA Revilla scored 17 points apiece while Almond Vosotros added 15 points as La Salle withstood the bumps and bangs to defeat San Sebastian College 84-70 and advance to the semi-finals of the Fi-Oil Flying V Preseason.
Teng also finished the game with 11 boards and 3 assists. Norbert Torres had 7 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists for the Green Archers, who lost to San Sebastian in the quarterfinals on this same tournament back in 2010.
Action was intense right from the start. The Archers had a difficult time holding up against the physical play of the Stags in the first half. Down by 8 early in the second quarter, the team went on a 15-8 run to trail by just 1 point at halftime.
La Salle then started the second half with a 9-0 spurt to lead 51-43. They never trailed from that point on.
Momentum swung to the Archers for good in the fourth period when Stags forward Calvin Abueva was ejected from the game after getting his second technical foul. He and Teng got tangled-up leading to a brief scuffle.
The Archers had 13 shot blocks in this game. Norbert Torres and Yutien Andrada had 5 rejections each while Teng added 3.
La Salle out-rebounded San Sebastian 51 to 42 but their free throw woes continue as they shot just 20 for 35.
Despite the physicality, the Archers never lost their composure and continued to match the Stag’s intensity on both ends.
“I like the way we conducted ourselves”, coach Gee Abanilla said. “They kept their composure and just played basketball. It’s a psy-war so composure, playing smart and knowing how to react is very important”.
Ian Sangalang and Abueva scored 17 and 16 points respectively for the Stags. They played minus Ronald Pascual who is recuperating from an ACL injury.
La Salle will next face San Beda, who earlier defeated CSB 80-41, on Saturday in another knockout match. Ateneo and NU will collide in the other semis pairing.
Notes: A total of 5 technical fouls were called in this game. Vosotros and Andrada, who both played for the San Sebastian Staglets in the NCAA juniors, came up big against their former school. Andrada had a spectacular block on a fastbreak layup but was issued a warning for taunting.
Boxscores:
DLSU 84 – Teng 17, Revilla 17, Vosotros 15, Andrada 8, Torres N 7, Webb 7, Manguera 6, Mendoza 3, Tallo 2, Gotladera 2, Reyes M 0, Herrera 0
SSCR 70– Sangalang 17, Abueva 16, Dela Cruz 13, Robollos 9, Maiquez 7, Juico 6, Antipuesto 1, Binuya 1, Miranda 0, Vitug 0, Dones 0, Balucanag 0
Quarterscores: 19-19; 42-43; 64-58; 84-70