DE LA SALLE survived the ejection of Head Coach Aldin Ayo late in the first half and weathered the rally of University of the East (UE) to post an 84-78 victory in Season 79 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ben Mbala again recorded a double-double game for the Green Archers with 19 points and 17 rebounds but De La Salle needed the clutch shooting of Andrei Caracut late in the game to stay perfect at 6-0 while handing the Red Warriors their sixth straight loss in as many games.
Justine Baltazar and Prince Rivero chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively, for De La Salle, which was threatened at 74-78 before Caracut hit a triple at the top of the key to give the Taft-based team an 81-74 cushion with one minute remaining.
UE again rallied and threatened once more at 78-81, but Kib Montalbo sealed the win with a split and the Red Warriors came up empty in their next possession.
Ayo was whistled for a disqualifying foul for protesting on a non-call on Green Archers guard Thomas Torres with 1:12 left in the second period.
Ayo grabbed the eyeglass of assistant coach Siot Tanquingcen and tried to fit on referee Eric Viray. Ayo could miss the Ateneo game on Sunday as he faces a possible one-game suspension.
Alvin Pasaol had a career-high 22 points to lead UE while Edson Batiller added 13 points before fouling out.
Ateneo de Manila, meanwhile, showed tenacity in defense in the fourth period to silence University of the Philippines (UP), 79-64, and seized solo second .
Thirdy Ravena and Anton Asistio led the Blue Eagles’ breakaway in the final period to carve the lopsided win and warmed up for their much-anticipated match against archrival De La Salle on Sunday.
Ravena scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Ateneo while Asistio unloaded five of his 10 points in the fourth period to help lead the Blue Eagles to their fourth win against two losses.
“We had a little bit let down in the third period. We came out with more defensive intensity in the fourth and the players just did their assignments,” said Blue Eagles Head Coach Sandy Arespacochaga, who also drew 14 points and seven rebounds from Chibueze Ikeh.
“There were stretches when we played well. We just have to minimize the rough patches, keep on improving each game. That what we put emphasis on the young guys,” Arespacochaga added.
Ateneo threatened to pull away early after Ravena’s two free throws, 56-44, but the fighting Maroons ended the third quarter with a 10-2 run to slice the lead to 54-58.
UP was still in the thick of things after Manuel’s basket, 58-64, then Asistio hit a triple that sparked a 13-2 assault to for a 77-60 De La Salle with 1:20 remaining.
“It was a good game for us especially at the end,” said Ravena, who played inspired basketball with the presence of his older brother, Kiefer, at the venue.
“I’m happy he’s back. Even when he’s in the US, he stays up late to watch Ateneo games,” the younger Ravena added.
Ateneo could have been 5-1 at this point if not for Dawn Ochea’s game winner for Adamson University (62-61) in their previous game. But Arespacochaga said their focus right now is to continue on improving and the coming task on hand—the big game versus the Green Archers.
“We have a long way to go. We can’t be sidetracked that we have done a lot. Hopefully we can do a lot more. And the focus on sight is against No. 1 La Salle,” Arespacochaga said.
“They have the No. 1 ‘players’ now in Ben Mbala and Jeron Teng. We’ll get our hands full but we’re looking forward to playing against them. We know it will be an uphill battle,” he added.
Paul Desiderio led all scorers with 25 points while Jett Manuel added 17 for the Fighting Maroons, who dropped to 1-5 in the team standings. No other UP player scored in double figures for Head Coach Bo Perasol.
Image credits: Alysa Salen