De La Salle sends feathered rivals crashing to the cellar
De La Salle center Norbert Torres makes his move in the paint against Ateneo guard Ryan Buenafe in their UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball match at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday. (FCF / Martin San Diego)
For one afternoon, it was as if the sold-out crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena were thrown back to the 1990s.
For the first time since that decade, Ateneo de Manila University goes winless in their first three games as archrivals De La Salle University claim an 82-73 victory in their much-anticipated first round meeting in UAAP Season 76 on Sunday.
Towed by the combined 17 points of Arnold Van Opstal and Almond Vosotros in their third period comeback, together with Luigi De La Paz’s timely jumpers, the Green Archers snapped their six game skid against the five-time defending champions dating back to the second round of their Season 73 campaign.
“We never won against them (Ateneo) during my time. I told the guys it’s our time now,” chimed Van Opstal, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in the contest, during the post-game interview.
In the absence of star guard Kiefer Ravena for the second straight game due to a severe right ankle sprain, Chris Newsome posted 18 points during the first half and led the Blue Eagles to a 12 point lead at the break.
But following the break, the lead quickly dwinled thanks to the efforts of Van Opstal and Vosotros, who did their damage inside and outside respectively.
More importantly, the Green Archers forced the Blue Eagles to foul trouble by the midway point of the second half, including the early exit of big men Frank Golla and JP Erram. In that 10 minute span after the intermission, the green and white converted 10-of-17 from the foul line, in stark contrast to their Katipunan counterparts not being able to make a trip to the 15-foot line.
Up by four in the last two minutes, De La Paz delivered the knockout punch with a trey from the left corner with 1:47 to seal the deal. He finished with 10 points in the contest.
Vosotros led the Green Archers with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Jeron Teng posted a quiet double-double output of 13 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
Among the players still with the Archers from the 2010 squad are Vosotros, De La Paz, LA Revilla, Oda Tampus, and the injured Yutien Andrada. Joseph Marata, who was the hero of the game for the squad under then-head coach Dindo Pumaren, has since moved on to UP.
Ateneo plummets to the bottom of the table with an 0-3 card, their worst start in 16 years. During that season, they started with an 0-4 slate.
Newsome tallied 27 points and seven rebounds. Juami Tiongson added 14 points, while Ryan Buenafe posted 11 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause.
(FCF / Vyn Radovan)
Romeo shines again in FEU’s rout of State U
In the first game, Far Eastern University extended their winning run to three to start off their Season 76 campaign, as they claimed a 75-57 blowout win in the matinee.
Terrence Romeo, who has been a vital cog in their success so far, posted 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Starting backcourt tandem RR Garcia and Mike Tolomia added 15 and 10 points respectively.
The Tamaraws are off to a 3-0 start, similar to their four-game unbeaten run last season that ended with a late season collapse that saw them miss the boat to the final four in a playoff match against De la Salle.
“Chemistry was better today. Over the past few days, we emphasized sharing the ball, looking for the open guy. I think we were successful today,” told FEU head coach Nash Racela to Fullcourtfresh.com following their win.
Big man Raul Soyud totalled for 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Chris Ball finished with nine points and 19 rebounds to lead the Fighting Maroons. Joseph Marata was limited to just four points in 19 minutes of action.
BOX SCORES
First game
FAR EASTERN (75): Romeo 20, Garcia 15, Tolomia 10, Cruz 8, Mendoza 6, Jose 6, Belo 6, Inigo 2, Aguilon 2, Sentcheu 0, Pogoy 0, Luz 0, Lee Yu 0, Hargrove 0, Delfinado 0
UP (57): Soyud 10, Ball 9, Lao 7, Amar 6, Wong 4, Marata 4, Gallarza 4, Desiderio 4, Gingerich 3, Suarez 2, Pascual 2, Asilum 2, Paras 0, Ligad 0, Harris 0
QUARTERS: 23-12, 41-21, 62-41, 75-57
Second game
DE LA SALLE (82): Vosotros 19, Van Opstal 18, Teng 13, De La Paz 10, Perkins 9, T. Torres 8, N. Torres 5, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, Bolick 0
ATENEO (73): Newsome 27, Tiongson 14, Buenafe 11, Pessumal 10, Erram 6, Elorde 3, Golla 2, Tolentino 0, Capacio 0, Babilonia 0
QUARTERS: 16-20, 28-40, 59-56, 82-73
