Teng hits game-winner to lift La Salle over Ateneo in Game One of UAAP Finals

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Photo by: Flavius Dulce

When the game is on the line, give it to the King Archer.

Team Captain Jeron Teng came up big once again for the De La Salle University Green Archers as he delivered the winning basket and blocked Ateneo de Manila University’s Aaron Black’s potential game-winner to draw first blood in a nerve-wracking Game 1 of the UAAP Season 79 Men’s Basketball Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena, Saturday.

Even though he was in foul trouble, Teng did not hesitate to attack the basket for his last two points of the game, putting La Salle on the driver’s seat, 66-65, with just 15 ticks remaining.

“I had to step up,” Teng said, “I wasn’t getting my flow in the game and kailangan ko lang bumawi sa defense.”

6’7 Center Ben Mbala led the Taft-based squad with a huge double-double, 23 points and 15 rebounds. Aljun Melecio tallied 12 markers, all of which came from beyond the arc, and four assists while Teng scored 10 and dished out fours dimes as well.

DLSU asserted their dominance early, suffocating the Blue Eagles with their ‘Mayhem’ defense. Teng muscled his way inside to put themselves up, 10-2, with 5:48 to go in the first canto. The Green and White did not put their foot off the glass pedal as they unleashed a 10-0 run capped off by a Abu Tratter free throw. The Green Archers topped ADMU, 19-6, after the quarter.

Aaron Black helped Ateneo fight back with a three-point play to cut the deficit to four, 22-26, with 4:33 to play in the second period. However, the Green Archers zoomed to another 10-2 run to lead the Eagles at halftime, 36-26.

In the third frame, ADMU turned aggressive driving to the lane. John Wong drilled a mid-range jumper to inch themselves closer, 39-42. Matthew Nieto split his free throws to tie the game at 52-all heading into the fourth,

The final quarter went tit-for-tat as both teams exchanged huge baskets down the stretch. Matthew Nieto banked in a basket plus the foul. He missed the bonus but it was good enough to push the Blue Eagles ahead, 65-64. Then, Teng took over. He scored a layup and deflected Black’s shot in the dying seconds of the game to take game one of the UAAP Finals.

Black was the only player that scored in double digits for Coach Tab Baldwin with 12 points. Wong added nine, while Thirdy Ravena, Chibueze Ikeh, and Matt Nieto all chipped in eight.

DLSU is a win away to win it all! Game 2 is on December 7, Wednesday, 3:30pm  at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“We have to be able to sustain the same intensity from the beginning until the end and we have to be able to execute whatever type of defense they throw at us,” Mbala said.

Box scores:

DLSU 67 – Mbala 20, Melecio 12, Teng 10, Sargent 7, Torres 5, Montalbo 4, Tratter 3, P. Rivero 3, R. Rivero 3, Caracut 1, Perkins 0, Baltazar 0

ADMU 65 – Black 12, Wong 9, Ravena 8, Ikeh 8, Mi. Nieto 8, Go 6, Ma. Nieto 5, Verano 5, Asistio 2, Tolentino 2, Mendoza 0, Porter 0

 

 

khyte.mendoza@yahoo.com'

Khyte Mendoza

For God... With God... Sports!

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khyte.mendoza@yahoo.com'

Khyte Mendoza

For God... With God... Sports!