Archers trip Maroons; Warriors rap Bulldogs

Defending champion La Salle drew strength from Rico Maierhofer as it pummeled University of the Philippines, 81-61, yesterday and closed in on archrival Ateneo in the 71st UAAP basketball tournament at Philsports Arena.

Maierhofer, known for his high-wire acts, has added the three-point shot to his arsenal. He made two against the Maroons to finish with 19 points as the Archers booked their seventh win in nine outings.

La Salle is just a neck behind Ateneo, standing in front with a 7-1 card.

“Coach Franz (Pumaren) told me I have the height and speed but I don’t have the outside shooting. He told me to develop it, that’s why I’ve been practicing with it since last year,” said the 6-foot-5 Maierhofer in Filipino.

Maierhofer, who hones his three-point shooting by putting up 600 shots a week in practice, has converted seven three-pointers this season, more than what he made in his first three seasons combined.

In the other game, University of the East overcame a sluggish start as it trounced National U, 67-50, to gain solo fourth with a 5-4 card.

The Bulldogs fell to their seventh setback against two wins with the team’s floundering Final Four bid suffering another setback with the sidelining of Jessie Garcia and Jonathan Jhanke due to injuries.

While Jhanke hurt his hip and may yet see action in the NU’s next game, Garcia seemed to have suffered a broken neck after UE’s Marcy Arellano fell on his head in a fastbreak play late in the third quarter.

Garcia was rushed to the nearby Medical City for tests.

The Archers blew hot in the first quarter when they roared to a 19-9 start behind JV Casio’s blistering start. But they turned cold in the second period to go into the break with a slim 34-30 lead.

Then Maierhofer unloaded a nine-point splurge in the third quarter as La Salle started to widen the gap before the duo of James Mangahas and PJ Barua pierced through the Maroons’ porous interior defense to blow the game out of reach.

“We were kind of flat during the first few minutes because after that hard game against UE the players got tired. It’s a good thing the veterans took over the game,” said Pumaren.

Martin Reyes matched his season high 21 points highlighted with five booming triples. But he just can’t do it alone for UP which took its seventh loss against two triumphs.