The all-business De La Salle Green Archers didn’t just dismantle Nash Racela’s grind-it-out strategy—they burned through it with precision, pulling off a dominant 70-45 victory over the Adamson Falcons at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
From the tip-off, Adamson had two clear objectives: slow the pace and drag La Salle into a slugfest, keeping the score as low as possible to give themselves a chance to steal the game at the end.
Instead, what they got was a season-low 45 points, a reflection of their offensive struggles and La Salle’s ironclad defense.
The Falcons came out swinging with an early 5-0 run, hoping to catch the Green Archers napping. But as quickly as Coach Topex Robinson and Kevin Quiambao adjusted, so did the tone of the game. La Salle responded with a 13-2 counterattack, anchored by quick transitions and sharp execution, putting them up 13-4 and reestablishing order.
Raven Gonzales closed out the first quarter with a personal four-point flurry, pushing La Salle to a 17-11 lead. But that was just the warm-up.
By the second quarter, it was clear La Salle wasn’t interested in grinding anything out. Instead, they opted for long-range fireworks. Doy Dungo, CJ Austria, EJ Gollena, and Josh David started raining threes on Adamson’s defense, ripping them apart with a 12-4 blitz that extended the lead to 34-21. David, in particular, was lethal—his confidently stroked triple shredded the Falcons’ zone, and a three-point play from Austria capped a 20-point halftime gap at 42-22.
Racela tried to change the script in the third, throwing a 1-3-1 zone at the Archers that briefly cut the lead to 46-31. But as they had done all game, La Salle adjusted with poise. They punched back with a five-point run, stretching the advantage to 51-31 midway through the third quarter.
Quiambao’s buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third period pushed the lead to its largest yet—59-36—virtually sealing Adamson’s fate.
With the game all but over, Coach Topex gave his younger players valuable minutes in the fourth quarter, letting La Salle’s future talents close out the game with a comfortable 62-37 lead midway through the final frame.
Adamson finished with a season-record low of 45 points on a brutal 30.8% shooting from the field and just 18.8% from beyond the arc, while La Salle cruised to 70 points on 41.1% shooting, including 34.6% from deep. The Archers had a minimal advantage off the boards, 38-36, and took full advantage of Adamson’s 23 turnovers, converting them into 19 points, all while holding their ground with an aggressive 21 fouls.
The Falcons were never able to regain control as La Salle dictated the tempo, outscoring them in nearly every category, including perimeter points (33-21) and points in the paint (22-14). By the time the final buzzer sounded, it wasn’t just a win for La Salle—it was a statement.
La Salle will battle rival Ateneo next.
ANIMO LA SALLE!
