The De La Salle Green Archers outgunned archrivals Ateneo Blue Eagles, 83-78, in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It their first win against their rivals since Game 2 of the Season 80 Finals, breaking a seven-game skid against the Blue Eagles. Back then, La Salle still had two-time league MVP Ben Mbala.
“The boys really worked hard. They believed they can beat Ateneo. Even though we were down, we were able to regroup in the second quarter,” said La Salle coach Derrick Pumaren. “Hats off to my guys I told them to never doubt that we can match up against Ateneo.”
Trailing by three, La Salle went on a 12-3 blast, capped by Schonny Winston’s jumper to take a six-point lead with 1:42 left, 79-73.
Forthsky Padrigao then made a triple to pull Ateneo within three before Winston answered with another jumper, 81-76, with 1:19 to go.
Kai Ballungay scored a deuce to move within three anew but the Blue Eagles failed to convert in the ensuing possessions as Evan Nelle iced the game from the line.
Winston unloaded 25 points to go with five rebounds, six assists, and two steals for the Green Archers.
Nelle chimed in 10 points while Raven Cortez was efficient in his 11 minutes with eight points and two blocks.
Ange Kouame had 22 points, but none of those came in the fourth frame, along with 12 rebounds and four blocks, while Ballungay had his best game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Padrigao shot poorly from the field, going 2-of-18 to finish with just seven points.
La Salle improved to 2-1, joining National University and Ateneo for joint second.
| UP Fighting Maroons | 3-0 |
| DLSU Green Archers | 2-1 |
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | 2-1 |
| NU Bulldogs | 2-1 |
| Adamson Soaring Falcons | 1-2 |
| UST Growling Tigers | 1-2 |
| UE Red Warriors | 1-2 |
| FEU Tamaraws | 0-3 |
The Green Archers will look to maintain momentum against University of the East on Wednesday, while the Blue Eagles will go for a bounce back against University of Santo Tomas.
In other weekend games, Adamson downed UE, UP topped FEU and NU beat UST.
The Scores:
DLSU 83 – Winston 25, Nelle 10, Cortez 8, Quiambao 7, Abadam 7, M. Phillips 6, Austria 6, B. Phillips 6, Estacio 5, Nwankwo 3, Nonoy 0, Manuel 0.
Ateneo 78 – Kouame 22, Ballungay 19, Andrade 8, Ildefonso 7, Padrigao 7, Gomez 5, Lazaro 4, Garcia 3, Chiu 2, Koon 1, Daves 0, Quitevis 0.
Quarters: 18-28, 46-47, 64-62, 83-78.