The De La Salle Green Archers ended their preseason campaign today with a 76-84 loss to the San Sebastian Stags in the quarterfinals of the Fil-Oil Flying V Invitationals. The team went neck-to-neck with the NCAA champions during the first two quarters and even led by 3 at the half. This all changed however during the third period as the Archers were unable to hit their shots while allowing the Stags to outscore them 31 to14. La Salle mounted a comeback during the latter stages of the ballgame as they were able to trim down the lead to 4 with around 2 minutes left. But it was just a little too late as the Stags made crucial stops down the stretch to seal the win.
The third period proved to be the turning point in the match. La Salle committed a series of early fouls which put the Archers into early foul trouble at the 8 minute mark. The team also failed to make the most out of the opportunities given to them at the foul line. With their bulk and experience, the taller Stags proved to be stronger on the offensive boards giving them several second chance points. The Archers were simply outhustled and outworked by the defending NCAA champions.
The Green Archers were not able to get much contribution from the backcourt except for Almond Vosotros. The rookie out of San Sebastian High was simply phenomenal today as he led the team with 17 points and was instrumental in their late game rally. So far he has proven to be a capable and fearless pointguard, and he will definitely be a key piece for the Archers in the coming years. Simon was nursing a slight injury and was off today, while Luigi was tightly marked by his counterparts and limited to just 2 points. Joel compensated for Simon’s off game with his good all-around game, but committed his 5th foul midway in the 4th quarter.
Ferdinand and Yutien Andrada both played well. I don’t have the complete stats but I observed that Ferdinand is now perhaps one of the most consistent free-throw shooters for the team. Unfortunately Yutien was unable to sustain his good game because of early foul trouble, and he eventually got his 5th with plenty of time left. Paredes was simply overmatched by the more experienced San Sebastian bigs and was largely ineffective in the paint.
On a sad note, Jovet Mendoza sustained a bad fall late in the game and had to be carried off in a stretcher. We hope it’s nothing serious. Initial feedback from team insiders indicated that he is ok. The departures of Yutien due to fouls and Jovet due to injury further decimated the La Salle front line.
The Stags will join FEU, JRU and Adamson in the semi-finals. Surprisingly, Ateneo and San Beda are already out of it as well as both teams lost their matches earlier.
The Green Archers have a month’s time to prepare themselves for the UAAP season which starts July 10. This gives the team enough time to iron out whatever kinks might be there before the real battle begins. Their paticipation in the Fil-Oil Flying V tournament showed that the Archers still have some growing up to do in the one month before the UAAP begins. However, the game against SSC showed that as far as fighting spirit is concerned, the team has a lot of it.
Box scores:
DLSU 76 – Vosotros 17,Webb 15,Ferdinand 14,Villanueva 7,Andrada 7,Tolentino 6,Marata 3, Reyes 3,Dela Paz 2,Mendoza 1,Atkins 1,Paredes 0,Tampus 0,Elorde 0,Banal 0,
San Sebastian 84 – Abueva 24, Pascual 17, Raymundo 11, Maconocido 10, Bulawan 5, del Rio 5, Gorospe 4, dela Cruz 4, Semira 3, Sangalang 0, E. Gatchalian 0.
Quarter scores: 22-20, 37-40, 68-54, 84-76.