The De La Salle Green Archers beat The UST Growling Tigers 78 -69 and assured itself of a slot in the Final Four. With their 8th win, they can no longer be overtaken by any other team. I predicted that they would need 8 wins to get to the Final Four outright and they did not let us down.
UST was no match for the Green Archers. Veterans Simon Atkins waxed hot with his 3 pointers and Maui Villanueva was all over the place and made some crucial baskets and fouls shots. The team as a whole was a thing of beauty to watch. Composure, composure , composure. They never panicked even when UST made mini runs to cut down the lead. As always the defense was their best offense. I counted at least 7 times that UST had to shoot in the last second of the 24 second clock. This just shows that they could not run their offense in the way that they usually do, Their big guns, Bautista, Fortuna, Teng and Camus were all duds since they could hardly get a shot up.
It was no dream! Ferdinand played his best game of the season and for that he deserves the biggest congratulations he can get. He scored 7 points, got a couple of rebounds and a couple of blocks. Let’s forget the 4 missed foul shots and the 5 turnovers he had. He made up for it with his intensity and his determination to contribute. It was the first time that I saw that he was not intimidated by the opponent. The morale of the story is to play within your limits and you will succeed. I am glad Coach Dindo is giving him long minutes because we will need him when the Final Four comes.
Joshua Webb finally had his breakout game. This was also his best game this season. The main reason that he was so effective was that he was not dribbling the ball in but instead moving without the ball and finding his spot under the basket where he would get a drop pass and score. Also, he also was able to use his speed to get the fast break going,. This kid has both the talent and the pedigree to be a great player. I just hope he continues to do what he did today. Except for an ill advised 3-pointer, Webb had the best game i have seen him play.
Kudos too to our big men too. Andrada, Mendoza and Paredes are a force to reckon with. I really like the hustle and hard work that they put in every game. This is especially true for Jovet Mendoza.
La Salle seems to be the team no one wants to play. From a pre-season ranking of no. 7 to a Final Four spot is in itself a great accomplishment. This team has surprised us all. I hope that the surprises do not end.
Don’t look now but we have a chance for a 2nd place finish. If we beat UE and Adamson and Ateneo loses to FEU, there will be a playoff game between La Salle and Ateneo for 2nd place. History tells us that Ateneo does not fare well when it comes to playoff games with La Salle, When we beat UE in 2007, Ateneo beat us 3 times and we beat them twice, yet we were the ones who ended up in the finals and the eventual champions.
What a difference a year makes!
Box Scores
DLSU 78 – Webb 14, Atkins 14, Villanueva 11, Marata 9, Mendoza 8, Tolentino 7, Ferdinand 7, Andrada 7, de la Paz 1, Vosotros 0, Tampus 0, Paredes 0.
UST 69 – Afuang 19, Teng 14, Fortuna 13, Mariano 10, Bautista 9, Camus 4, Pe 0, Lo 0, Daquioag 0, Aytona 0.
Quarter scoring: 17-18, 36-27, 53-46, 78-69.
