The De La Salle Green Archers went through the eye of the needle before pulling off a thrilling 74-71 victory today over the UST Growling Tigers to finish the first round at fourth spot in the UAAP Season 74 men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Archers were appeared headed to an easy win after erecting a huge 22-point lead at the break. The Tigers, however, refused to give up and waged a spirited comeback in the second half.
With the Tigers’ go-to-guy Jeric Fortuna going down with cramps, UST went to Karim Abdul inside and his quick two off a well-executed inbound pass from Jeric Teng cut the deficit to just one, 72-71, with 14.9 seconds.
In the next play, La Salle’s sophomore Jarelan Tampus missed two free throws but won the rebound battle to get another chance at the line getting Abdul’s fifth foul. Tampus made the next two pressure-packed free throws while UST’s rookie Kevin Ferrer flubbed a game-tying triple to seal the Archers’ fourth win in seven games.
“We struggled in the second half but we still got the ‘W’ and that is what’s important. Our target was to finish in second or third. I think we’re in good shape [going into the second round],” said DLSU coach Dindo Pumaren, who lost Simon Atkins (head concussion), Luigi dela Paz (swollen knee) in the tightly-fought match.
Despite missing Joshua Spider Webb (fever), the Archers started out strong with Torres and Tampus’ waxing hot early leading by as much as 23 in the first half, 49-26.
But the Tigers’ bench woke up in the second half scoring 36 points with Abdul and Teng pouring out a combined 33-point output to fuel their comeback bid.
LA Revilla struggled offensively for the second straight game with only two points but issued eight assists for the Archers. Torres exploded for a career-high 21 points and eight boards while Tampus finished with 14 markers.
Abdul, on the other hand, also had a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who dropped to fifth with their fourth loss in seven games.
The Scores:
DLSU 74 – Torres 21, Tampus 14, Villanueva 10, Dela Paz 8, Marata 6, Atkins 6, Van Opstal 5, Revilla 2, Vosotros 2, Gotladera 0, Mendoza 0, Andrada 0.
UST 71 – Abdul 21, Fortuna 20, Teng 14, Camus 7, Afuang 4, Ferrer 3, Lo 2, Vigil 0, Tan 0, Sheriff 0, Pe 0, Lao 0, Ungria 0.
Quarters: 26-14, 49-27, 56-44, 74-71.