BEN Mbala made an immediate impact in his first game in the season as La Salle defeated Adamson, 85-73, on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 80 seniors basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Mbala had a UAAP career high 32 points in his season debut after playing for Cameroon in the Fiba Afrobasket.
The Green Archers improved their record to 3-0 to gain a share of the lead with Ateneo.
Mbala is back after helping Cameroon reach the quarterfinals of the Fiba Afrobasket.
Mbala shot 11-of-16 from the field and wound up with a double-double with 10 rebounds and added four blocks.
La Salle led by as many as 24 points as the Green Archers took the command after the first period, 36-12.
Adamson trimmed the deficit to seven, 73-66, with Mbala not on the floor.
Mbala stopped La Salle's run as he made a three-point play with 9:20 left in the fourth to bring the lead back to double-digits.
La Salle coach Aldin Ayo, however, was not satisfied with the team as the Green Archers were unable to sustain its form throughout the game.
"It was a bad win," said Ayo. "We started strong but down the stretch, we committed lots of mistakes."
Robbie Manalang had 16 points for the Falcons, who dropped to 1-2.
The scores:
La Salle 85 — Mbala 32, Santillan 10, Tratter 9, P. Rivero 8, R. Rivero 6, Montalbo 5, Caracut 5, Go 3, Baltazar 3, Melecio 2, Gonzales 2.
Adamson 73 — Manalang 16, Sarr 12, Ahanmisi 10, Pingoy 9, Manganti 8, Bernardo 8, Hill 6, Ochea 3, Lojera 1, Espeleta 0, Camacho 0, Mustre 0, Zaldivar 0.
Quarterscores: 36-12; 55-33; 70-61; 85-73.
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