LA SALLE is still the standard in UAAP Season 87 and University of Santo Tomas learned it the hard way.
The Green Archers had every answer to all the upstart Growling Tigers’ efforts as they came away with a well-earned 88-67 win on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It’s the kind of game which displayed the wide gap that defending champion La Salle has from much of the field - that includes a UST team knocking on the doors of contention.
"We know what they're capable of. We know how well-coached that team is and sabi nga namin, our goal right now is to just outwork UST and I'm glad that we just really did what we're supposed to do this afternoon and we're just fortunate and blessed to get this win," said coach Topex Robinson.
Showing immense poise, the Green Archers surged in the fourth quarter, using a 27-point finishing kick which left the rattled Growling Tigers in the dust.
La Salle's Taft tower stands tall
It also helped that Michael Phillips made mincemeat out of UST’s frontline, turning in 12 points, 18 rebounds, and two assists as he sent his counterparts into foul trouble.
That only opened the paint for La Salle's supporting cast to do damage, with Vhoris Marasigan knocking down 11 points and JC Macalalag and Raven Gonzales scoring 10 apiece.
That height and might mismatch was glaring, as the green-and-white gravely outrebounded the black-and-gold, 56 to 29, including 21 offensive boards against just five.
Kevin Quiambao had a relatively quiet night, but still churned out 10 points, six boards, and four assists to help the Taft side rise to 5-1 ahead of its colossal matchup against league-leading University of the Philippines next week.
The Growling Tigers slipped to 3-2 despite Nic Cabanero’s 16-point night.
Forthsky Padrigao also had his best offensive game to date, knocking down four triples for 15 points, five assists, a rebound, and a steal, but the lack of interior presence really hurt the Espana side.
The Scores:
LA SALLE 88 – M. Phillips 12, Marasigan 11, Quiambao 10, Macalalag 10, Gonzales 10, Agunanne 7, Gollena 6, Austria 6, Dungo 6, David 4, Abadam 3, Konov 3, Ramiro 0.
UST 67 – Cabanero 16, Padrigao 15, Acido 9, Manaytay 8, Tounkara 5, Llemit 5, Danting 5, Robinson 2, Lane 2, Crisostomo 0, Pangilinan 0, Mahmood 0, Laure 0, Estacio 0, Paranada 0, Calum 0.
Quarters: 19-18, 36-30, 61-52, 88-67.
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