Groundhog Day for the Green Archers
La Salle engaged in an unfamiliar grind-it-out battle, falling short to the UP Maroons, 65-73, in Game 1. UP maximized Quintin Millora-Brown’s low post all second half, as La Salle struggled to find any offensive rhythm when it mattered most.
Still keeping a slim lead at the opening half, 41-37, the Maroons opened the second half with a commanding 7-0 run, spearheaded by Millora-Brown’s relentless body banging inside, maximizing his vertical plus that sheer physical mass.
In contrast, the Green Archers were stagnant in offense, often leading to an emergency shot at the end of the shot clock. The usually fluid green offensive with 4:09 remaining, the score stood at 41-44, and the Green Archers were still searching for a quick solution to their scoring famine.
There were zero field goals in the first six minutes.
Coach Topex Robinson helplessly shuffled his rotation, experimenting his five on the floor from small to big lineups, but nothing seemed to work.
At the 3-minute mark of the third, Mike Phillips finally broke that nasty scoring drought with a strong move inside at the three-minute mark, and CJ Austria followed up with five straight points, including a crucial three-pointer, to reclaim a slim 48-47 lead.
And this time, UP had an answer for every run and countered with a 7-2 blast to close the quarter, seizing a 50-54 advantage heading into the last 10 minutes.
The Fighting Maroons opened the final frame with what has worked so far – lob the ball to Millora-Brown’s inside-the-paint and see him drop buckets five feet from the hoop to lead 54-65.
Desperately wanting to fight back, Phillips became the lone renegade refusing to give up and refusing back down. Phillips scored four straight points to trim the deficit to 61-65 with 4:46 left.
But a costly La Salle turnover led to a Gerry Abadiano midrange jumper, pushing UP’s lead back to six at 61-67 with two minutes remaining.
As UP fans were half celebrating and half in fear of another La Salle comeback, Phillips kept rolling and barreling inside the paint. Motor Mike converted a second-chance basket to cut it to 63-67.
However, the rally was short-lived as Abadiano delivered the killer, draining an open three-pointer with 40 seconds left to put the game out of reach at 63-70.
Quiambao led his Green Archers with 19 points, but only one of those 19 points was scored in the second half. Phillips scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, carrying the battle almost on solo mode in the last half.
UP’s three-point shooting remained abysmal at 19%, but that key offensive adjustment of deliberately pounding the ball more down low made a big difference for the Maroons. A higher shooting clip at 39% plus committing only 11 turnovers are good tools for winning a playoff game.
La Salle hit their usual turnover numbers at 18 and was listless on the field, shooting 33.1% and only 23% from deep. Not their usual winning combination.
The Green Archers must seriously regroup and deeply adjust if they hope to bounce back in Game 2.
Taft’s offensive woes were evident as early as in the first quarter, except for some episodes of effective scoring. EJ Gollena came alive in the first quarter, igniting the offense with a personal seven-point burst that fueled an 11-4 run. By the end of the first quarter, the Green Archers had flipped the script, taking an 18-11 lead.
Capitalizing on size and speed mismatches on the wings, La Salle relentlessly attacked UP’s smaller or slower defenders. UP’s Reyland Torres and JD Cagulangan couldn’t keep up with the pace set by Gollena, Kevin Quiambao, and JC Macalalag.
Quiambao took over in the second quarter, unleashing a barrage of threes that widened the gap. His heroics pushed La Salle ahead 34-28 with four minutes remaining in the period.
UP managed to fight back, narrowing the lead to 38-37 with just 46.2 seconds remaining in the half.
However, Lian Ramiro silenced the UP crowd with a clutch three-pointer, giving La Salle breathing room and securing a 41-37 lead heading into the break.
Game Two will be on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 5:30 pm at the Araneta.
ANIMO LA SALLE!
KAYA PA YAN!!!
SCOREBOARD:
UP (73) – Millora-Brown 17, Cagulangan 13, Lopez 13, Abadiano 9, Torculas 7, Bayla 5, Alarcon 4, Torres 3, Fortea 2, Stevens 0, Felicilda 0, Ududo 0.
DLSU (65) – Quiambao 19, Phillips 17, Gollena 11, Austria 7, Ramiro 5, David 2, Agunnane 2, Marasigan 2, Dungo 0, Macalalag 0, Gonzales 0, Rubico 0.
Quarterscores: 11-18, 37-41, 50-54, 73-65
