ARCHERS HUMIRIT NG SUDDEN-DEATH VS MAROONS

SUMANDAL ang third-ranked La Salle kay Evan Nelle upang maitakas ang 83-80 panalo laban sa University of the Philippines at maipuwersa ang Final Four decider sa UAAP men’s basketball tournament kahapon sa Mall of Asia Arena.

Galing sa pinakamalaking panalo sa season na nagpuwersa sa Final Four, ang No. 2 Fighting Maroons ay nawala sa pokus at kinapos sa kanilang paghahabol mula sa 22-point deficit.

Ang pagkatalo ay tumapos sa six-game winning streak ng UP kontra La Salle na nagsimula noong 2018 at nanganganib na mabalewala ang twice-to beat semifinals advantage sa ikalawang sunod na season.

Pag-aagawan ng Maroons at Archers ang puwesto sa best-of-three title series bukas ng alas-6 ng gabi sa parehong Pasay venue.

“The boys really played hard today. The boys played 40 minutes of solid basketball. It was a disciplined effort and everyone was on the same page today,” wika ni La Salle coach Derrick Pumaren.

Humataw si Nelle, isang transferee mula sa San Beda, ng UAAP career-high 26 points na sinamahan ng 7 assists, 6 rebounds at 3  steals.

Nalusutan ang ankle injury, tumipa si graduating big man Justine Baltazar ng double-double 15 points at 18 rebounds para sa Archers.

“Wala nang bukas pa. Ibinigay na talaga ‘yung best namin kaya naging maganda ang resulta,” sabi ni Baltazar, na nagtala rin ng 3 assists at 2 blocks.

Nagbuhos  si Senegal’s Maodo Diouf ng 18 points, 20 boards, 3 blocks at 3 assists habang gumawa rin si Ricci Rivero ng 18 points na sinamahan ng 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals at 2 assists para sa UP.

Iskor:

DLSU (83) — Nelle 26, Baltazar 15, Lojera 11, M. Phillips 7, Austria 7, Winston 7, Nwankwo 4, Nonoy 3, Manuel 3, B. Phillips 0.

UP (80) — Diouf 18, Rivero 18, Lucero 17, Tamayo 8, Abadiano 7, Cagulangan 6, Spencer 3, Alarcon 3, Ramos 0, Fortea 0, Webb 0, Lina 0.

QS: 24-16, 48-37, 66-55, 83-80