MANILA, PHILIPPINES – It was a tough game for UAAP Season 79 Most Valuable Player Ben Mbala and the DLSU Green Archers, but in the end, they still earned the victory.
Things were already getting heated even before the tip-off. Green Archers’ Ben Mbala and Soaring Falcon’s Papi Sarr stared down for some time on the court right before tip-off and an exchange of some words was also evident. DLSU player Jeron Teng scored the first points in the game from a steal off the inbound and got fouled on a layup, in which he was able to convert into an and-one. DLSU then proceeded to go on a 7-0 run. Sean Manganti cut DLSU’s lead to one after a fast break dunk with 5:32 left to play in the first quarter. Ben Mbala hyped up the entire arena with a posterizing dunk on Dawn Ochea. Melecio almost made a buzzer beater from half-court but the ball rattled out of the basket. At the end of the first quarter, DLSU led Adamson 22-20.
In the second quarter, Ben Mbala viciously blocked Alexis Barrera post-up attempt. Manganti scored off an backdoor pass giving AdU an 26-24 lead with 7:03 in the second quarter. With 4:23 in the game, Ben Mbala was fouled and was able to shoot both free throws cutting AdU’s lead to 1. With 3:27 left in the game, Archers G Kib Montalbo sunk a three-pointer giving DLSU a 29-28 lead. During the last few minutes of the game, La Salle was on a 12-1 run while AdU had zero FG’s for the last five minutes. With 1:42 left in the first half and the score at 37-29, Jeron Teng turned the ball over twice in a row off inbound passes allowing AdU to score easy back-to-back buckets. At the end of the first half, DLSU out scored AdU 15-13 and led 37-29.
At the half, DLSU was shooting 54% while AdU was only shooting at 36%. However, DLSU allowed 15 turnovers with AdU scoring 14 points off them and on the other hand, AdU had a fair 7 turnovers with 9 points being scored off those turnovers. Ben Mbala led all scorers with 14 points, Teng with 10, and Manalang and Manganti both with 7.
At the beginning of the second half, Jonathan Espeleta shot a three-pointer to get things started, cutting DLSU’s lead 36-37. DLSU committed lots of turnovers allowing the Falcons to score and lead DLSU late in the third quarter, which ended with consecutive free throws made by Jerrick Ahanmisi, 51-50.
The fourth quarter was where everything started to get interesting. It was a rollercoaster for both teams with many fouls and turnovers. Mbala was able to get a jumpshot off a turnover in the backcourt to start off the final quarter of the game but Robbie Manalang quickly responded with a three-pointer to give the Falcons the lead once again 54-52. The Archers had a beautiful sequence with a Prince Rivero blocking a layup, allowing Aljun Melecio to gain possession of the ball and score an easy layup. Espeleta tied up things at 56-56 with a layup. Later in the game, Falcons Coach Franz Pumaren was given a Technical Foul, and Jeron Teng was able to make the free throw and hit the dagger with 2:21 left in the game with the Green Archers leading 67-64. AdU was able to grab enough offensive rebounds during the last 70 seconds of the game, but wasted their oppurtunity to score with back-to-back three-pointers. Mbala turned the ball over once again after travelling on the baseline with 56 seconds left in the game. This was followed by an 8 second backcourt violation against DLSU giving AdU another oppurtunity to score and keep their hopes up for another game. With 11.5 seconds left in the game, AdU misses another three pointer to tie the game, Teng gets fouled and heads to the line getting both free throws made sealing the game 69-64. With the last possession of the game, AdU airballed a three pointer and Mbala grabbed the rebound, which signified the Green Archers return to the Finals after three years.
Jeron Teng led all scorers with 25 points and fellow teammate Big Ben boasted a double-double with 21 points and 16 boards. Sean Manganti led Falcons scoring with 13 points. The De La Salle Green Archers will face the winner of the Ateneo Blue Eagles-FEU Tamaraws matchup on Saturday.
AUTHORS TAKE:
This game was a very tough game for DLSU as AdU proved that they were worthy to have a spot in the Final Four. The Falcons played very good defense against the Archers forcing them to allow a whopping 26 turnovers with 18 being scored out of those 26. It seemed that AdU was able to recognize the Archers’ plays and intense D and exceptional transition defense was able to hold the Archers at 69 points, in which, the Archers lead the league at scoring with 88.1 PPG. DLSU needs to stay smart and make good decisions especially when it comes to passing. Ben Mbala’s 16 rebounds and 4 blocks kept DLSU’s defense up. I was disappointed at AdU during the last few minutes of the game since they were basically chucking up three point shots and missing them all when they had the chance to score from all their offensive rebounds and turnovers from La Salle. If DLSU continues to play like this in the finals, I have a feeling that they won’t last long especially if they meet the Ateneo Blue Eagles, who gave the only loss to DLSU this season.
About the author:
Jerry Balot Jr. is a Grade 11 Student at De La Salle Santiago Zobel school. He aspires to become a journalist once he graduates college. Jerry’s loyalty to all his sports teams from San Francisco is unmatched ever since he was born. Jerry also loves sneakers, music, and many other sports.
Twitter: _JerryGB Instagram: jrryb E-mail: jerryhansolo@icloud.com
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