ENCHO Serrano played like a man possessed to carry La Salle to a 92-77 victory over University of Santo Tomas on Saturday in the UAAP Season 82 men's basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.
The sophomore guard delivered a career-high 29 points to go with four rebounds to spearhead an all-out assault that enabled the Green Archers to put away their third win in seven games.
Serrano's explosion coincided with La Salle's third-quarter breakway that turned a four-point lead, 54-50, into a 67-58 spread entering the fourth period.
The floodgates eventually broke in the final canto, with Aljun Melecio's back-to-back treys giving the Green Archers a 17-point lead, 88-71, with 1:40 to play.
"We were due to win," said coach Gian Nazario. "The way the team has been practicing, it showed in today's game. We were just talking about it, that when our team follows the game plan, the results will follow.
"We played well against Adamson, we were eight seconds unlucky versus UP, but this time around, we made sure we'll finish the game well."
Melecio also shot a scintillating 6-of-9 clip from deep to finish with 26 points and five assists.
Jamie Malonzo chimed in 13 points, nine rebounds, and two dimes, while Andrei Caracut was happy to do the dirty work with his six points, eight assists, and four boards.
Former Green Archer Brent Paraiso posted a career-high 22 points and six rebounds to lead UST in his first game against his old alma mater.
Soulemane Chabi Yo was held to just 16 points and 14 rebounds, as the Growling Tigers fired blanks in the game and only shot 8-of-27 from three.
The Tigers are now 4-3 (win-loss) overall.
The scores:
LA SALLE 92 - Serrano 29, Melecio 26, Malonzo 13, Bartlett 7, Caracut 6, Baltazar 4, Hill 3, Bates 2, Manuel 2, Laput 0.
UST 77 - Paraiso 22, Chabi Yo 16, Abando 9, Nonoy 9, Concepcion 8, Huang 4, Subido 4, Ando 2, Cansino 2, Bataller 1, Cuajao 0, Pangilinan 0.
Quarters: 20-14, 42-32, 67-58, 92-77.
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