PAYBACK complete.
La Salle blasted past arch-rival Ateneo, 72-69, to boost its bid for a twice-to-beat incentive in front of a 14,900-strong crowd in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
Kevin Quiambao waxed hot for the Archers with 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists en route to the season’s longest win streak by any team at eight in a row.
READ: Kevin Quiambao takes 'refuse-to-lose' mentality to Final Four
“Para sa’kin, dinoble ko ‘yung effort ko and ‘yung mindset coming into this game na hinding-hindi na kami pwedeng matalo dahil ‘yung team namin on the rise na — ‘yung growth, ‘yung learning curve nando’n," Quiambao said in an ambush interview with SPIN.ph.
"Heading into the playoffs, talagang bakbakan ‘to at intense na laban. Kung sinuman ‘yung makakaharap namin, hindi kami magpapatalo. Focus kami sa kung anong meron kami at kung anong kontrolado namin, then move on to the next one," he added.
Semis-bound La Salle (11-3) now awaits the result of tomorrow’s finale match between University of the Philippines (11-2) and National University (10-3) which will shape the course of this year’s Final Four.
A UP win hands La Salle the No. 2 seed. However, an NU win by 19 points or more over UP drops La Salle to No. 3.
However, should NU win by a mammoth 39-point margin over UP, there will be a playoff for the No. 2 seed between La Salle and UP.
The scores:
DLSU (72) – Quiambao 14, Nelle 10, M. Phillips 10, Nonoy 10, Policarpio 9, Austria 6, David 6, Abadam 4, Cortez 2, Escandor 1, Manuel 0, Macalalag 0.
Ateneo (69) – Obasa 21, Ballungay 12, Amos 10, Koon 9, Credo 4, Espinosa 4, Quitevis 4, Brown 3, Lazaro 2, Nieto 0, Chiu 0.
Quarterscores: 14-17, 35-32, 51-46, 72-69
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