It was a statement win.
For a team whose title defense mission has been marred with a questionable loss and close games that should have been blowouts, this UST Tigers whipping must have felt good.
De La Salle University once again flexed its muscles, pulling away in the fourth quarter to defeat University of Santo Tomas 88-67, solidifying its hold on second place in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The end game margin might have looked dominant, but La Salle trailed UST at one point at 23-27 in the second canto. But as KQ rifled home a three to trigger an 18-4 run, the Green Archers were off and running with a 41-34 lead.
While the aggressive UST Tigers growled back cutting the lead to seven, 49-42, these hungry-for-a-dominant-win Archers capped off another 10-2 run led by rookie Vhoris Marasigan to stretch the lead to 15, 59-44 with a minute left in the third quarter.
Holding a nine-point lead entering the final quarter, La Salle launched another swift 8-0 run, effectively putting the game out of reach at 69-52 with 7:17 remaining. The combination of Marasigan’s three-pointer, CJ Austria’s driving layup, and Alex Konov’s triple built the Archers’ biggest lead at 88-64, showcasing the depth and firepower that have made them title contenders once again.
Despite the win, the UST starters outscored La Salle’s starting five 39-49. But it was the Taft supersubs providing the depth, outscoring the UST bench 49-18.
Head coach Topex Robinson was quick to point out that effort made the difference. “The key for us this afternoon was outworking them. We know UST is a well-coached team, but our focus was to outwork them. That’s been our goal all season,” Robinson said.
In what became a defining battle on the boards, La Salle out-rebounded UST 56-29. Mike Phillips led the charge with a double-double performance, tallying 12 points and 18 rebounds, while also dedicating the game to the late Doleo Susalta, a close friend and team compound security guard who recently passed away.
Rookie Vhoris Marasigan, labeled a “force to be reckoned with” by Robinson, had an efficient outing with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Raven Gonzales also made his presence felt, scoring 10 points with five rebounds, two steals, and a team-high plus-25 rating in just 14 minutes of play. Kevin Quiambao and JC Macalalag added 10 points each, proving once again that La Salle’s depth is a real weapon this season.
“Our ‘one more’ mentality really came to life today. Guys know they’ll get their opportunities, and they delivered,” Robinson said, emphasizing the team’s selflessness and commitment to collective success.
With this win, La Salle sets the stage for a highly anticipated rematch against the undefeated University of the Philippines on October 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena. A victory would mean a tie at the top of the standings and could shift the momentum heading deeper into the season.
On the other side, UST now drops to a 3-2 record, tied for fourth with the University of the East. Despite a solid performance from Nic Cabanero, who scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and Forth Padrigao’s 15-point, five-assist effort, UST couldn’t keep up in the latter stages of the game. Malian import Mo Tounkara struggled, limited to five points and five rebounds, eventually fouling out with under seven minutes to play.
ANIMO LA SALLE!!!
The Scores:
DLSU (88) – Phillips 12, Marasigan 11, Quiambao 10, Gonzales 10, Macalalag 10, Agunanne 7, Austria 6, Gollena 6, Dungo 6, David 4, Abadam 3, Konov 3, Ramiro 0.
UST (67) – Cabanero 16, Padrigao 15, Acido 9, Manaytay 8, Tounkara 5, Llemit 5, Danting 5, Robinson 2, Lane 2, Calum 0, Estacio 0, Paranada 0, Mahmood 0, Crisostomo 0, Pangilinan 0, Laure 0.
Quarters: 19-18, 36-28, 61-50, 88-67.
