Archers make sure Falcons won’t pull off upset

By Reuben Terrado

DE LA SALLE handily beat Adamson, 76-61, Thursday to take solo second place in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 71 men’s basketball tournament at the PhilSports Arena.

JV Casio had 19 points as he and five other Green Archers finished in double figures in the match. Casio was also three-of-five in the three-point area to shoot down the Soaring Falcons who have won two consecutive games earlier, including an upset of last year’s runner-up University of the East (UE).

The Green Archers improved with a 4-1 won-lost card to wrest second place from idle Far Eastern University (3-1). The Soaring Falcons slid to 2-3.

UE got back its winning ways and trounced University of the Philippines (UP), 87-58, in the other men’s game.

The Red Warriors led by as many as 40 points (83-43) to grab their third game in five outings. They will face FEU on Saturday.

In women’s play, UP made sure UE would not do double for the day with a 65-60, while FEU defeated Adamson, 48-36, to remain tied for the lead with 4-0 win-loss slates.

University of Santo Tomas defeated National University, 62-38, for a 3-1 card, while De la Salle bested Ateneo, 58-47, for its second win in four matches. Adamson now carries a 2-2 mark, NU 1-3 and UE and Ateneo 0-4 each in the women’s contest.

De la Salle coach Franz Pumaren said his wards prepared doubly hard for the Falcons, who on Sunday stunned the Red Warriors, 66-64.

“We were prepared [in] anything they threw against us. They also gave us problems. They showed different looks. But I’m happy that my players were prepared for any scenario,” said Pumaren.

“Coming into this game, we made sure that our mindset was to play hard. This team is capable of beating any other school, especially after the UE game,” Pumaren added.

Rico Maierhofer had 13 points and seven rebounds, while rookie Maui Villanueva had 12. Bader Malabes and Peejay Barua each scored 10.

Marc Agustin and Jan Colina led the Soaring Falcons with 12 points each, while ex-Green Archer Michael Galinato made nine points.

The Green Archers opened a 13-point lead, 35-22, entering the second half but the Soaring Falcons clustered nine straight points to cut the lead to four, 39-35.

But De La Salle finished the third with a 6-0 run with Villanueva scoring four points in that sequence building a 52-41 advantage.

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