La Salle’s 3 year reign over Adamson halted

The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers quite couldn’t put an exclamation point to finish their match up against Adamson University (AdU) this season as the Green and White fell to the Soaring Falcons, 50-57, on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

It was a rough game on the offensive end for the Green Archers, as they really had to work extra hard for their points. The gutsy Adamson defense was able to limit DLSU to only 26.09% shooting.

The first quarter was a testament to La Salle’s measly offensive outing, as the Taft-based squad was only able to score 2 points, courtesy of free throws from Joaqui Manuel. The Archers went on a forgettable 0/18 at the first frame to trail Adamson, 2-9.

The second quarter was favorably better for La Salle. Justine Baltazar hit a hook shot to finally put DLSU on the field goal board. Mark Dyke followed up on the next possession to inch La Salle closer to the lead. Adamson was still able to combat with a run of their own, but Aljun Melecio stepped up big time to score 6 straight points to cut the lead back down, 14-23. Melecio and Encho Serrano then proceeded to score the last 7 points for La Salle to end the quarter, 21-28, in a low scoring affair.

The activity level for La Salle elevated in the third quarter, with Justine Baltazar opening with two quick possesions to dig into the lead, 27-33. From then on, it was a game back and forth, capped off by a jumper from Kib Montalbo to end, 35-41.

The final frame was the decider, with the result still hanging in the balance. Midway through the fourth quarter, though, Melecio hit two consecutive triples to trim the lead down to just a single points, 46-47. Adamson respon ded with 6 straight point that put a blow to La Salle’s comeback efforts. Encho Serrano put up four straight for DLSU to cut back down to four, but it was all too late as clutch performances from Papi Sarr and Sean Manganti to put a cork on the game.

Aljun Melecio topscored for La Salle with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Encho Serrano, who has seen a continued improvement on the court, followed with 10 points. Despite scoring only 6 points, Justine Baltazar had his way on the glass with 15 rebounds.

Meanwhile for Adamson, Sean Manganti was on brand with his breakout season, pouring in a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Papi Sarr also had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Jerrick Ahanmisi chipped in 9 points, all from beyond the arc.

The win marked Adamson’s first win over La Salle since October 2015, marking an end to La Salle’s 3-year reign of terror over the Soaring Falcons.

The Green Archers will look to get back on their feet as they take on the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamarawas on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Lady Archers succumb to Lady Bulldogs, suffer second straight loss

(FILE PHOTO)

The De La Salle University fell prey anew to National University as the Lady Archers bowed to the Lady Bulldogs, 64-111, in the UAAP Season 81 women’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Saturday.

La Salle suffered its second consecutive defeat after losing to the UE Lady Warriors the last outing.

National U imposed its will early and jumped to a 20-0 blitz in the opening quarter with 4:45 to go. Their aggressiveness on both ends of the floor was too much for the green side as they held a 32-7 advantage after the first.

DLSU tried to contain NU as much as they could but a 21-13 second period for the latter added salt to former’s wound, with the Lady Bulldogs stretching the lead to 33 at halftime.

The Jhocson-based squad went on a scoring barrage in the third canto. Rhena Itesi connected with a jumper to give National U its biggest lead of the game, 81-28, with 2:04 remaining.

The Lady Archers fought back until the very end, but the Lady Bulldogs were just a cut above the rest as they pummeled La Salle from start to finish.

Kath Nunez and Ana Castillo spearheaded for DLSU with 13 points apiece, while Camille Claro added 12 points, all from beyond the arc.

On the other hand, Ria Nabalan exploded for 40 points on 61% shooting. She also tallied six rebounds and eight assists. National team player Jack Animam also posted monster numbers with 20 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks, while Itesi chipped in 19 points and 16 boards.

NU also continues to make a mark, extending its win streak to 72 games.

The Lady Archers dropped to a 5-4 record and they will try to bounce back from this defeat as they face the FEU Lady Tamaraws in round 2 on October 27, Saturday, 9am at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

DLSU 64 – Castllo, A. 13, Nunez 13, Claro 12, Castillo, R. 8, Torres 5, Espinas 4, Del Campo 3, Jajurie 2, Paraiso 2, Arciga 1, Revillosa 1.

NU 111 – Nabalan 40, Animam 20, Itesi 19, Pingol 9, Fabruada 6, Canuto 5, Del Carmen 5, Camelo 3, Cac 2, Ceno 2.

Quarter scores: 7-32, 20-53, 31-81, 64-111.

Notable statistics:

Rebounds: DLSU 30-58 NU

Assists: DLSU 16-32 NU

Blocks: DLSU 1-10 NU

FG: DLSU 29%-69% NU

Free throws: DLSU 9/15 (60%) – 20/33 (60%) NU

Points in the paint: DLSU 18-58 NU

Bench points: DLSU 38 – 18 NU

 

 

 

 

Serrano, Green Archers cruise past Red Warriors to grab share of 3rd spot

(FILE PHOTO)

The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers started the second round with a dominating 79-59 victory over the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Wednesday.

La Salle improved to 5-3 and is now tied for third place with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.

Encho Serrano recorded his career-high in scoring with 18 points together six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Andrei Caracut added 16 points, six boards and two dimes, while Santi Santillan and Justine Baltazar chipped in 13 and 12 markers, respectively, including seven rebounds apiece.

DLSU also matched their season-highs in bench points and steals with 40 and nine respectively.

The Green Archers began the game hot as they built a 10-point edge in the opening quarter, but a late 5-1 run from the Red Warriors kept the latter within striking distance, 21-16, after the first.

The Taft squad caught fire in the second frame as they unleashed a 16-2 blast to balloon their lead to 16, 44-28. UE, though, rallied back to trim its deficit down to 11 at halftime.

Coach Joe Silva and his crew waxed hot to begin the third period with his team chopping La Salle’s advantage down to three, but the Green and White showed resilience and took advantage when Alvin Pasaol was on the bench. They turned to their defense and smooth-sailing offense to stretch the lead back to 17, 66-49.

It was all DLSU in the final quarter as UE could not get anything going. The Archers’ bench, then, took care of business on their way to the win.

Pasaol once again had himself a show againts La Salle, tallying 22 points and 17 rebounds, while Cristopher Conner posted 12 and seven.

DLSU 79 – Serrano 18, Caracut 16, Santillan 13, Baltazar 12, Melecio 8, Manuel 3, Montalbo 3, Bates 2, Corteza 2, Dyke 2, Capacio 0, Go 0.

UE 59 – Pasaol 22, Conner 12, Varilla 7, Bartolome 6, Antiporda 3, Cullar 3, Acuno 2, Manalang 2, Sobrevega 2.

Quarter scores: 21-16, 47-36, 66-49, 79-59.

 

Kib Montalbo five years after getting his first ring: Now, it’s gonna be different

It has been five years since DLSU Green Archers captain Kib Montalbo won his first championship in the UAAP.

Now in his last playing year, Montalbo said things are in a seemingly untouched setting this time, especially with him being the most senior in the team. “Now, it’s gonna be different because I’m gonna be the leader of this team”, he said.

Montalbo posted eight points and four rebounds against Adamson, his second game after coming back from an injury.

The La Salle captain surprised everyone during the game against Ateneo when he played despite having a fractured thumb. “I just really want to play, that’s the bottom line. It’s my last year and I don’t want that my thumb injury will determine my season,” Montalbo explained last week.

A throwback

Montalbo recalled that five years ago, he was just doing everything he can despite being a rookie.

“First year, bangko ako eh. Pero my mentality was I want to win kahit bangko ako. I kept cheering on my teammates, pushing them kahit mas matanda sila sakin. Being their rookie, support them. Moral support,” he narrated.

Back then, it was a roller coaster ride for the Green Archers.

Then head coach Juno Sauler was named just weeks before the season started, replacing former head coach Gee Abanilla. The green-and-white ended the first round with a 3-4 record, but went on to sweep the second round to improve to 10-4. Two other teams, FEU Tamaraws and league leader NU Bulldogs also had the same record at the end of the eliminations, with the UST Growling Tigers completing the Final Four.

FEU and La Salle played a virtual best-of-three to determine who will enter the Finals. The Archers got the greener side of the pasture in two games, putting them in the Finals again after a five-year absence.

On the other side of the league, NU, with the twice-to-beat advantage, was defeated by the determined UST Growling Tigers.

It took DLSU three thrilling games against UST to bring home the crown back to Taft.

Fast forward to three years after, in 2016, after sitting out a year due to an ACL injury, the Man of Steal had become an integral part of the Archers’ system. “Third year, it’s fun ‘cause nagagamit na ako eh,” Montalbo recalled. DLSU, of course, was the most dominant team in the league that year, with Ben Mbala in the lineup. It was also Aldin Ayo’s first year as DLSU head coach.

Playing against rivals Ateneo, Montalbo chipped in nine points during the second game of the Finals, behind Jeron Teng’s 28 points and Mbala’s 18.

Fast forward to this season. Fresh off a win against the upstart Adamson Falcon, Montalbo and the Green Archers are looking ahead to a great closing performance to Season 81. With La Salle ending the first round at solo fourth with four wins and three losses, Montalbo said they’re taking things one game at a time. “We’ll see how it goes,” he ended.

Melecio puts on a show anew as Green Archers outlast Soaring Falcons in OT

After a disappointing loss at the hands of bitter rivals Ateneo Blue Eagles, the De La Salle Green Archers bounced back to close out the first round on a high note.

The Taft squad took down the league-leading Adamson University Soaring Falcons, 79-78, in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament at the MOA Arena, Saturday.

DLSU once again leaned on the heroics of spitfire point guard Aljun Melecio who posted 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 35 minutes of play.

The frontcourt duo of Santi Santillan and Justin Baltazar also made an impact on both ends of the floor with the former adding 16 points and nine rebounds, while the latter chipped in a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards for La Salle.

La Salle came into the first quarter with guns blazing as they built a 20-11 lead late in the opening period. Adamson finally got its feet wet, rallying back to cut the deficit to 16 to end the first.

The Green Archers tightened up their defense in the second frame. They contained the Soaring Falcons to just 1/10 shooting from beyond the arc with over 6 minutes still to go in the quarter as they stretched the lead to 10.  However, Jerrick Ahanmisi put AdU on his back. The hot-shooting guard scored the last 10 points of the San Marcelino-based crew to trail by just one at halftime, 33-32.

It was a game of runs in the second half. Both teams refused to let go as they exchange rallies from one point to another. The Archers and the Falcons found themselves all knotted at 49 at the end of the third canto.

Adamson looked like it would finally pull away as Ahanmisi gave his team a 58-51 lead midway through the fourth period. La Salle, though, had other ideas in mind, countering with a run of their own capped off by a floater from Melecio to tie the game at 64 that eventually sent the game into overtime.

The boys in green showed their experience as they left AdU in the dust, 73-64 with 2:08 left. It was not all over for Coach Franz Pumaren and his wards. The Falcons still had a lot left in them with Sean Manganti drilling a long bomb to cap off another run by Adamson, cutting the DLSU edge, 77-75, 10 ticks remaining in the game.

Fortunately for La Salle, time was on its side as they chalked win no. 4 against to 3 losses to hold solo 4th place. On the other hand, Adamson gained a 5-2 card tying Ateneo and at first.

Ahanmisi led the Falcons with 27 points and seven rebounds, while Manganti tallied 23 points, seven boards and four assists.

AdU dominated DLSU on offensive rebounding, 26-9, that resulted in 14 second-chance points against La Salle’s 4.

The Green and White made 24 of 41 free throws, while Adamson only had eight in 15 attempts from the stripe.

Box scores:

DLSU 79 – Melecio 22, Santillan 16, Baltazar 16, Caracut 8, Montalbo 8, Serrano 5, Bates 2, Manuel 2, Dyke 0, Go 0.

AdU 78 – Ahanmisi 27, Manganti 23, Sarr 9, Catapusan 5, Camacho 4, Lastimosa 3, Bernardo 2, Colonia 2, Espeleta 2, Magbuhos 1, Mojica 0, Pingoy 0.

Quarter scores: 22-16, 33-32, 49-49, 64-64, 79-78 (OT).

 

Lady Archers shoot down Ateneo in first round closer

Riding high from their winning ways this season, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers dominated the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Lady Eagles, 82-56, to close out the first round on a high note on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Coming off a resounding win against the University of the Philippines (UP), the Lady Archers went right back at it, this time with a supersized swagger against their arch rivals.

La Salle blew the opposition right out of the water to start, as excellent two-way play from the Green and White had the Lady Archers jump right into a big lead. Camille Claro started things off right with a booming triple. Katrina Guytingco responded with a jumper to make it 3-2, but that was the last field goal that Ateneo would make that quarter. Brought by a collective effort from DLSU’s Castillo, Paraiso, Qungco, and Arciga, the Lady Archers were able to jumpstart to a 16-5 lead to end the first foray.

The Lady Archers never let their foot off the gas in the second quarter, as the lead even reached to a whopping 24-5 until Ateneo’s Newsome was able to stop the bleeding with a jumper of her own. It was this quarter where Khate Castillo absolutely dominated, as she scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the second quarter, including three triples. After one half, it was 44-12, DLSU in complete control.

Even when the Lady Eagles retaliated in the second half, outscoring La Salle 44-38, it was all too late for Ateneo as a tremendous start from the Lady Archers made the last two quarters a formality.

Khate Castillo spearheaded La Salle with a game-high 19 points on an impressive 66% clip. Kat Nunez added 16 big points, all off the bench. Angel Quingco also held her own with 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Ateneo’s Joson led the team in scoring with 9 points. Off the bench, they had Villamor, Newsome, and Nimes scoring 8 apiece for the Katipunan-based squad.

The victory brings the Lady Archers to 5-2 after the first round, on third just below powerhouses National University (NU) and Far Eastern University (FEU).

Stay tuned for updates on the second round schedule of the Lady Archers. Be there to support the Green and White! Animo!

Melecio’s 21 not enough as Green Archers fall to Ateneo

A valiant effort from Aljun Melecio was turned away as the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers fell to archrivals the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles, 55-71, on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Melecio led the game in points with 21 but Ateneo’s firepower caught La Salle off guard with red-hot shooting from beyond the arc by the former and a multitude of turnovers by the latter.

Albeit the final score as it is, the first quarter was a tightly contested one, showcasing some classic Ateneo-La Salle action. Melecio kicked off the game with a three-pointer, followed by a Baltazar layup to put the Archers up, 5-0. Ateneo stayed in the game with efficient perimeter scoring, including a shot by Anton Asistio from downtown to put the Eagles up, 12-7. La Salle would then proceed to score six straight to lead the first, 13-12.

The second quarter was a tough one for La Salle. After a tug-of-war first couple of minutes, Joaqui Manuel was able to hit a three to push DLSU to an 18-16 lead. Unfortunately, that was the last lead that La Salle was able to enjoy. Ateneo went on a huge 12-0 run, capped by a Thirdy Ravena three to push the lead to double digits, 28-18. Melecio was able to stop the bleeding with a three of his own to cut the lead entering the second half, 21-28, but it was an indication that La Salle had work to do.

La Salle had high hopes entering the third quarter, starting it all off with a putback from Justine Baltazar to slice the lead down to five. Ateneo eventually responded with an intense 7-0 scoring run that ballooned the Blue Eagle lead, 35-23. Santi Santillan muscled in an and-one to put it back down to single digits, but it was all Ateneo from then on. Tyler Tio off the bench poured in five including a wide open triple that sent the Ateneo crowd into frenzy. It was 50-33, Ateneo to end the third frame.

La Salle never wavered in the final canto, as they did for the whole game. After a series of trade-offs, Melecio led the team to cut the lead down to just fourteen, 54-40. Reigning Finals MVP Thirdy Ravena had something to say back, in form of another deep bomb to put Ateneo back up 57-40. La Salle tried another run in them with consecutive baskets from Santillan and Serrano, inching closer to 60-48. Raffy Verano then hit a dagger triple from the corner to halt the Archers’ rising momentum. Kib Montalbo and Aljun Melecio teamed up to try and lead a miracle comeback, but it was a little too late for the Green and White. Ateneo gets round one, 71-55.

Aljun Melecio led a valiant effort with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Santi Santillan was second in line with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Big man Angelo Kouame held his own for Ateneo with a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. Anton Asistio added 12 points off 4 of 5 shooting from deep, while Thirdy Ravena had an all-around outing with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists.

La Salle concludes their first round basketball action against the Adamson University (AdU) Falcons on Saturday, October 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Bounce back, Green Archers! Animo La Salle!

Melecio, Baltazar propel La Salle past UST

Behind big games from their stars, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers unloaded their frustrations from the last game to crush the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 99-72, on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

A trio of factors went La Salle’s way: defense, rebounding, and three-point shooting en route to the blowout win. The Archers were all over the stat sheet from the opening tip, as they wildly outrebounded UST, 55-40. Shooting from beyond the arc was the cherry on top, in which DLSU shot 53% from that area. Aside from that, La Salle also forced UST to shoot at a measly 31%.

The game began right away in La Salle’s favor, with a combined 11 points to start from Aljun Melecio and Justine Baltazar had the Archers jump right into a 13-2 lead. The duo of Melecio and Baltazar started strong as they combined for 18 first quarter points to bury UST early, 28-13.

DLSU retained their level of intensity in the second frame, this time with more of the cast chipping in points of their own with bench reliables Brandon Bates, Santi Santillan, and Jollo Go entering the offensive fray. Three-point shooting also started to click for DLSU, with Go hitting a trio of deep bombs to balloon La Salle’s lead to 20, 54-34.

The second half was simply a formality for the Taft-based squad, with the lead even going up as big as 31 points. The Growling Tigers just failed to match La Salle’s firepower that afternoon.

Justine Baltazar topscored for the Green and White with 22 points and also added 10 rebounds. Aljun Melecio poured in 19 points and 8 rebounds. Jollo Go added 11 points, including a perfect 3/3 clip from downtown. Andrei Caracut, Encho Serrano, and Santi Santillan also combined for 34 points off the bench.

Meanwhile, UST was headlined by guard Renzo Subido with 16 points. Veterans Marvin Lee and Zach Huang had 13 apiece, and top rookie CJ Cansino was limited to only 7 points on 3/10 shooting.

Aside from elevating La Salle’s record to 3-2, the game also marked the first time DLSU met former and UAAP Season 79 Champion head coach Aldin Ayo since their turbulent offseason.

La Salle looks to build from the much-needed momentum as they face rivals and defending champions Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles on Saturday, October 6 at the MOA Arena.

UP’s fight gets the best of the Green Archers

The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers fell short brought by a late 4th quarter run by the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in the UAAP Season 81 Men’s Basketball Tournament, 61-67, On Sunday, September 30, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It was a seesaw battle for both teams as they exchanged baskets throughout the first period. Veteran Archers Baltazar, Santillan and Caracut are the only players who scored in the first quarter with 4 a-piece. The frame ended at 12-13, with La Salle trailing at the end of 1st quarter.

Aljun Melecio took charge for the Green and White, contributing 8 points in the quarter along with a buzzer beater three to end the first half. Fighting Maroon Desiderio fired back-to-back threes to answer the De La Salle run but it was a collaborative effort for La Salle with 5 of its players scored 21 points in total for the 2nd period. 33-29, DLSU ahead at the end of first half.

The UP Fighting Maroons was on fire entering the third period with Akhuetie and Juan Gomez De Liano leading the Maroons. It was a quarter meltdown for the Green Archers with the Fighting Maroons limiting the Archers to only 12 points in the whole third period. At the end of third, DLSU trails, 45-51.

It was an intense battle for both squads during the final 10 minutes of the game. The UP Fighting Maroons led by as much as 14 points in the first minutes of the 4th period but the Taft-based squad Veterans stepped up to fight and gave La Salle an 11-0 run to cut the deficit down to one, 60-61 with less than 3 minutes left. The Green Archers tried to tie the game but fell short after the final buzzer.

At the end of Regulation, the Green Archers fell short on late run, 61-67.

Baltazar led the Green Archers with 13 points and 10 rebounds while a combined 24 points for Melecio and Santillan contributed to the scoring load.

Meanwhile, Bright Akhuetie and Juan Gomez De Liano led the Fighting Maroons with 19 and 17 points, respectively.

The DLSU Green Archers will aim to bounce back on Wednesday, October 3 against the University of Santo Tomas at the Mall of Asia Arena.

BOX SCORES:

DLSU (61) – Baltazar 13, Melecio 12, Santillan 12, Caracut 9, Dyke 8, Go 5, Serrano 2,

UP (67) – Akhuetie 19, Ju Gomez de Liano 17, Desiderio 12, Ja Gomez de Liano 7, Manzo 6, Dario 2, Tungcab 2, Vito 2

Lady Archers suffer first loss to streaking NU

In what was a toe-to-toe battle of two royalties in women’s basketball, it was the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs who reigned supreme over the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers, 74-66, on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

The two basketball powerhouses were nip and tuck for most of the game, as both held identical immaculate records entering the game, and it was the Bulldogs who remained lossless after the match.

The first quarter started off with NU firing on all cylinders, hitting on a 3 of 6 clip from beyond the arc, a patented weapon of the Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Archers, however, weren’t about to allow the opposition to fire away for themselves, as Bernice Paraiso and Joe Arciga combined for 8 of DLSU 13 points in the opening quarter, trailing only by five.

Defense was the main game for the second quarter, as the Lady Archers took advantage of their defensive tools to exploit NU’s offense. Clamping down the perimeter, the Green and White allowed only a single shot from downtown out of the Bulldogs, forcing them to go to the paint and in unfamiliar territory. The Archers were able to inch a bit closer to the lead, entering halftime trailing, 28-31.

The third frame ensued an all-out hustle for both teams inside the paint that ended well for the Taft-based squad. A huge 13-2 run, capped off by a three from Bettina Binaohan, heaved La Salle to a 7-point lead, their biggest in the game. Eventually though, the Lady Bulldogs woke up and went on a run of their own, eventually tying it back up at the quarter’s end with a layup from Itesi.

In the final canto, though, Nu showed their grit and winning culture, as a conserted effort from Animan, del Carmen, and Pingol was enough to get past the hungry Lady Archers. Allowing a mini 5-2 run from the Sampaloc-based squad, it was a little too late to catch up for the Green and White, and eventually dropped the game, 74-66.

Despite the loss, a number of Lasallians had a game. Veterans Khate Castillo and Bettina Binaonan scored 13 apiece, and also combined for 11 rebounds. Camille Claro played an all-around game with 11 points, 4 rebound, and 6 assists, while Bernice Paraiso also chipped in 11 points of her own.

NU was led by Jack Animan, who had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Itesi also poured in a double-double of her own with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Nabalan, Pingol, and Cacho combined for 32 points.

Catch the Lady Archers next as they go for a bounce back win versus Far eastern University (FEU) on Sunday, September 30, at the Blue Eagle Gym.