La Salle gets to continue their title defense for a bit longer, as they returned to the UAAP Finals in men's basketball with an 82-75 victory over Adamson in their Final Four matchup this past Saturday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Trailing for most of the game, the Green Archers showed maturity, poise, and composure in crawling back in, capping things off with a strong fourth quarter to escape with the win. With a 63-54 deficit staring them in the face, the defending champions opened the period on a 14-0 run over the first five minutes. When Kristian Bernardo finally broke through with his fastbreak layup, the Soaring Falcons were now trailing 68-63.
Adamson tried to regain their bearings, managing to bring the deficit back down to a solitary point twice, with the latest being 71-70 after Rob Manalang triple with 3:23 remaining. However, La Salle responded with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach, kickstarted by Leonard Santillan's corner triple and highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Ricci Rivero.
Aldin Ayo credited Adamson's scheme, stressing, "All game long, we found it very hard to break their camouflage. They're denying the paint." He also deflected a question regarding his preference of an opponent in the finals, as he says "Be careful on what you wish for, kasi if you picked someone, it adds to the pressure."
For Ben Mbala, he and the team just want to stay focused and practice hard for the finals.
Mbala would finish with 27 points, fourteen rebounds, and a couple of steals, while Santillan added fifteen points and eight rebounds.
Playing in his final collegiate game, Manalang finished with sixteen points. Jerrick Ahanmisi topscored for the Soaring Falcons with seventeen markers.
La Salle now waits for their upcoming opponent, whether it will be either Ateneo or FEU. The Finals is set to take place starting November 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena. (c/o Kim Karlo Castro)
Trailing for most of the game, the Green Archers showed maturity, poise, and composure in crawling back in, capping things off with a strong fourth quarter to escape with the win. With a 63-54 deficit staring them in the face, the defending champions opened the period on a 14-0 run over the first five minutes. When Kristian Bernardo finally broke through with his fastbreak layup, the Soaring Falcons were now trailing 68-63.
Adamson tried to regain their bearings, managing to bring the deficit back down to a solitary point twice, with the latest being 71-70 after Rob Manalang triple with 3:23 remaining. However, La Salle responded with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach, kickstarted by Leonard Santillan's corner triple and highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Ricci Rivero.
Aldin Ayo credited Adamson's scheme, stressing, "All game long, we found it very hard to break their camouflage. They're denying the paint." He also deflected a question regarding his preference of an opponent in the finals, as he says "Be careful on what you wish for, kasi if you picked someone, it adds to the pressure."
For Ben Mbala, he and the team just want to stay focused and practice hard for the finals.
Mbala would finish with 27 points, fourteen rebounds, and a couple of steals, while Santillan added fifteen points and eight rebounds.
Playing in his final collegiate game, Manalang finished with sixteen points. Jerrick Ahanmisi topscored for the Soaring Falcons with seventeen markers.
La Salle now waits for their upcoming opponent, whether it will be either Ateneo or FEU. The Finals is set to take place starting November 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena. (c/o Kim Karlo Castro)
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