DE LA Salle sent Far Eastern University reeling to its second straight loss with a 77-66 victory on Sunday in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Green Archers unleashed several mini runs in the first half that led to a sizeable gap at halftime. In contrast to their first-round encounter, the Taft-based cagers this time foiled any comeback by the Tamaraws.
De La Salle improved its record to 5-4 to start off the second round with a bang.
FEU, on the other hand, remained winless in the second round after sweeping the first half of the season with a 7-2 card.
National University defeated FEU last week 59-58 to end the Tamaraws' win streak at seven.
La Salle coach Juno Sauler remained unsatisfied with the victory although he lauded his wards for avoiding a repeat of their meltdown in the first round, when they led by 13 points in regulation before falling in overtime, 79-83.
“I’ve been telling my players to be mentally tough and mentally prepared. We know that teams will make runs. It’s mental toughness and mental focus that pulled us through,” said Sauler.
Jason Perkins had 18 points and 13 rebounds, including eight markers in the first quarter that saw the Archers lead 23-14 in the first.
The Green Archers used a 13-0 run to post a 43-21 lead in the second period.
Perkins completed a three-point play in the third period that made it 58-43, but the Tamaraws came storming back to trim the deficit to only two points on an RR Garcia triple and running shot, 62-64, midway in the fourth.
The Green Archers answered with seven straight markers including a triple by Almond Vosotros to keep their lead.
Roger Pogoy and Mark Belo had 16 points for Terrence Romeo was relatively quiet the whole match and added 12 points.
The scores:
DLSU (75) – Perkins 18, Teng 16, Vosotros 13, Van Opstal 9, Salem 6, Montalbo 5, N. Torres 4, Tampus 4, Revilla 0, Bolick 0.
FEU (66) – Pogoy 16, Belo 16, Romeo 12, Tolomia 7, Hargrove 6, Garcia 5, Cruz 4, Inigo 0, Sentcheu 0, Mendoza 0, Lee Yu 0, Jose 0, Dennison 0, Delfinado 0, Aguilon 0.
Quarterscores: 23-14; 44-33; 60-50; 75-66.
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