LOOKS like La Salle’s revenge tour is well underway in UAAP Season 88 Round 2 after imposing its will on University of Santo Tomas for a convincing 86-77 victory, Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Even without injured Kean Baclaan and Mason Amos, the Green Archers unholstered more weapons from their arsenal to shoot down the Growling Tigers who scored a 93-84 win in their first round meeting.
At the head of the attack were Jcee Macalalag and Jacob Cortez who wound up with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists and 12 markers and four dimes, respectively.
It was also Macalalag and Cortez who teamed up with Earl Abadam for all but seven points in a telling 24-7 tear that turned a five-point lead early in the second quarter to a 52-30 advantage just before the half.
"We know how loud that UST crowd can be, so we made sure to quiet them a bit," said coach Topex Robinson, talking about the black-and-gold's resounding and imposing 'Go USTe!' chant.
UST could not recover from there, as the green-and-white rang off its third consecutive victory for an 5-3 overall record, tying both the Growling Tigers and the University of the Philippines for the second spot.
Abadam and Vhoris Marasigan chimed in 10 points apiece, as MVP frontrunner Mike Phillips didn't even have to do much heavy lifting in terms of scoring with just six markers, but 13 rebounds and six assists. In all, Taft's bench accounted for 41 big points, compared to their counterparts who mustered just 14.
"We've been losing players. That's one of our drives today and moving forward this season. It's just so fortunate to have players always being ready to contribute. It's just about everybody finding their own ways to contribute in this team," said Robinson.
Looking ahead for La Salle
Up next for La Salle is winless University of the East before back-to-back showdowns with Round 1 tormentors Ateneo and National U.
On the other hand, UST suffered their second straight setback despite the best efforts of Collins Akowe who had 20 points and 14 rebounds, as Gelo Crisostomo and Mark Llemit contributed 15 and 13 markers, respectively.
Top guns Nic Cabanero and Forthsky Padrigao only combined for 15 points in 7-of-22 shooting alongside five turnovers.
The Scores:
LA SALLE 86 – Macalalag 18, Cortez 12, Marasigan 10, Abadam 10, Daep 8, Gollena 8, Phillips 6, Dungo 5, Quines 5, Pablo 4, Nwankwo 0.
UST 77 – Akowe 20, Crisostomo 15, Llemit 13, Cabañero 12, Danting 5, Acido 4, Padrigao 3, Paranada 3, Calum 2, Buenaflor 0, Estacio 0.
Quarters: 24-17, 52-36, 64-51, 86-77
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