UAAP: DLSU Green Archers show poise in OT, dominate UE Red Warriors late

(Updated 6:42pm) The De La Salle University Green Archers survived a late gaffe in regulation that could have resulted in a University of the East Red Warriors win, but they held on to dispatch their foes, 75-65 in overtime, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in Season 76 of the UAAP.

With the victory, the Archers tied the FEU Tamaraws for second place, thanks to their 8-4 record, while UE's postseason chances took a major hit, as they slumped to 5-6.

[Review the play-by-play of this game here]

The Archers cleaned house in overtime after Roi Sumang managed just a split on a pair of game-winning free throws, having been mistakenly fouled by DLSU center Norbert Torres.

Almond Vosotros and Jason Perkins made triples to open a five-point lead, 64-59, with three minutes to play, as the Warriors struggled visibly, tripping themselves up with turnovers and missed opportunities inside that allowed La Salle to move up the ranks.

Like the league-best NU Bulldogs, the Archers have won all their games in the second round, for five straight triumphs. Meanwhile the Warriors lost their third straight game on the heels of a four-game winning streak. The Warriors need to win their remaining games, starting with Sunday's match against the head coach-less Ateneo Blue Eagles, to keep their Final Four hopes alive.

Lord Casajeros and Thomas Torres returned after serving one-game bans handed by commissioner Chito Loyzaga. The Warriors also fielded Sierra Leonean center Charles Mammie, whose two-game suspension was downgraded to one in an earlier UAAP board meeting today. Meanwhile, Ralf Olivares sat out the first of a two-game ban for his unsportsmanlike play against the NU Bulldogs.

The reversal obviously irked DLSU head coach Juno Sauler, who said Mammie's presence threw them off-guard, most visibly in the first half. "We practiced for two days based on the personnel whom we though we would play. Then suddenly an hour before we had to change our mindsets. It wasn't only difficult for me but also for the players," said Sauler, who expressed relief that his team was able to quickly adjust.

"I dunno [what to expect on] versus NU. An hour before, they might change players too," finished Sauler, voicing displeasure at the board's decision.

Jason Perkins posted a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds, including making all three of his three-point attempts. Jeron Teng complemented him with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Almond Vosotros supplied 16 points and five rebounds.

In the first quarter, the Warriors found penetration opportunities against the Archers, while  Perkins' perimeter touch kept the latter side close, 11-7. Scoring slowed down though in the last four minutes, as both teams focused on attacking and defending the paint. Still, JM Noble delivered back-to-back turnaround jumpers in the paint in the final minute, rewarding UE with a 21-14 spread after the first period.

Scoring slumped in the second quarter, as La Salle committed unforced errors and UE couldn't find ways to finish plays. The Warriors took advantage, slowly but surely building a 10-point lead behind and-one plays from Gino Jumao-as and Roi Sumang, 31-21.

La Salle though started to turn things around in the last two and a half minutes. Almond Vosotros found his range, ringing in five points from the perimeter to build a 9-2 run, punctuated by an LA Revilla triple with 16 seconds left. However, a late foul on Sumang gave him two charities, for a 35-30 UE cushion at the half.

UE shot just 14-of-38 (36.8 percent) through the first two quarters, while La Salle fared slightly better with a 12-of-32 clip (37.5 percent). The Archers however already committed 11 turnovers by halftime in contrast to UE's eight, and trailed 26-19 on the glass.


The Warriors went on a brief 6-0 run in the third quarter, before babying point-blank shots. In turn, Perkins' touch along the baseline anchored a 9-0 counter for the Archers, knotting the game at 39-39.

UE stuck it out on the defensive end though, forcing the Archers into tough attempts. La Salle had no field goals in the last 4:49, while a rash of poor foul shooting held the Warriors' lead to four after three quarters, 45-41.

Noble carried the Warriors in the fourth quarter, making plays in the paint to ward off drives by Jeron Teng and Perkins, 54-51, with three minutes to play. However, La Salle was hamstrung by two away from the ball fouls by Perkins, plus an out-of-bounds play by Teng to extend UE's possession to a full minute. La Salle finally forced Noble to cough up the ball, leading to Thomas Torres drawing a foul off Sumang.

During the dead ball at 1:44, the referees downgraded an earlier Sumang trey as the replay showed he stepped on the line, 53-51. Thomas Torres then made both charities to knot the game. Sumang however salvaged a broken play with a long heave, with the referee saying Torres made contact. The point guard made two, 55-53.

The Archers called for time, and Arnold Van Opstal drew a non-shooting foul beneath the basket, as UE were in the penalty, though he split his freebies. Torres then forced a backcourt violation against Sumang, giving La Salle the chance to take the lead with 59 ticks left.

UE burned their last timeout and forced a Perkins miss, only for Sumang to commit a 24-second violation. With 25 seconds left, La Salle took their final timeout. They went back to Perkins, who nailed a 16-footer with 13.4 seconds left. The Warriors pushed the ball ahead, and Norbert Torres gave up a foul, unaware that La Salle was in the penalty as well, to stop Sumang with 4.7 ticks left.

Sumang missed his first and made the second freebie to tie. Teng then scrambled upcourt, and launched a floater that just drew the back iron as regulation ran out.

After going scoreless in the second half, Vosotros opened overtime with a triple. Moments later Perkins followed suit from deep, steering La Salle to a 64-59 lead. After consecutive empty trips by UE, a Van Opstal layup put the game out of reach with two minutes left, 66-59.

La Salle shot 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) from beyond the arc, a clear advantage against UE's 2-of-18 (11.1 percent) clip from rainbow country. The Archers were 28-of-65 (43.1 percent) from the floor, while UE was 24-of-73 (32.9 percent).

The Archers owned a 16-5 spread in assists. UE had a 49-41 rebounding edge, including 23-13 offensive, but still trailed disappointingly in second-chance points, 7-2.

Roi Sumang and JM Noble tallied 17 points each, on a combined 13-of-35 shooting clip. Gino Jumao-as added 13 points, while Charles Mammie posted 11 points and 20 rebounds, half of them off the offensive glass. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

DLSU 75: Perkins 22, Teng 17, Vosotros 16, Van Opstal 9, T Torres 6, Revilla 3, N Torres 2, Salem 0, Reyes 0, Montalbo 0, De La Paz 0

UE 65: Sumang 17, Noble 17, Jumao-as 13, Mammie 11, Sumido 2, Javier 2, Casajeros 2, Alberto 1, Olayon 0, Santos 0, Pujante 0, Hernandez 0, Guion 0, Flores 0

Quarter scoring: 14-21, 30-35, 41-45, 56-56, 75-65