RHYLE Melencio came through with 18 points and 20 rebounds as De La Salle-Zobel extended its winning streak to three games following an 81-67 romp of UP Integrated School in the UAAP Season 85 high school boys basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
After completing an elimination round head-to-head sweep of the Junior Fighting Maroons, the Junior Archers improved to 4-4 overall, very well within the Final Four range.
"Like what I said before, if you want to get to the Final Four, ito ang mga teams na kailangan naming talunin kasi our next game namin would be FEU," said De La Salle-Zobel coach Boris Aldeguer.
"Had we lost this game, it would be a harder drive for us to get to the Final Four. This was an important win. A good win for us coming to our next game," he added.
Extending his season-best double-doubles to eight, Melencio is happy that the Junior Archers are getting better at this important stretch of the season.
"Feel ko each game, lumalakas kami. Natututo kami each game. Yung Round 1, kinalimutan na namin so parang nag-back to zero kami sa Round 2," said Melencio, who also had four assists, three blocks and two steals.
Kristian Porter had 18 points and 17 rebounds while LeBron Nieto chipped in 17 points, seven boards, six assists, and four steals as Ateneo avenged its first-round loss to University of the East, 88-77.De La Salle-Zobel had a balanced offense, as Kieffer Alas and Justin San Agustin each scored 15 points, while Junjun Melecio and Charles Dimaano had 13 and 11 points, respectively.The Blue Eagles, who dropped a 79-84 decision to the Junior Warriors in the first round, rose to 3-5, just a game behind the Junior Archers.
The scores:
First GameDLSZ (81) -- Melencio 18, San Agustin 15, Alas 15, Melecio 13, Dimaano 11, Espina 5, John 2, Pabellano 2, Arejola 0, Chang 0, Cruz 0, Dimalanta 0, Legaspi 0, Sta. Maria 0.UPIS (67) -- Napalang 22, Demisana 17, Villaverde 12, Valdeavilla 6, Melicor 6, Raymundo 4, Mendoza 0.Quarterscores: 19-14, 35-28, 57-46, 81-67Second Game
Ateneo (88) -- Porter 18, Nieto 17, Delos Santos 12, Ebdane 10, De Guzman 10, Santiago 6, Adevoso 4, Prado 3, Salandanan 2, Urbina 2, Tupas 2, Domangcas 2.UE (77) -- De Leon 23, Roldan 20, Morales 9, Duque 6, Gragasin 5, Arcega 4, Gatchalian 4, Bagro 3, Flores 2, Pangilinan 1, F. Reyes 0, V. Reyes 0, Isip 0, Malonzo 0.Quarterscores: 19-22, 40-43, 65-63, 88-77
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