La Salle heads into their matchup against arch-rivals Ateneo on a six-game winning streak, as they dominated against National University, 101-76 this past Saturday afternoon at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Serving as the anchor for the Green Archers once again is Ben Mbala, as he powered his way to thirty points on 8/13 shooting. He also made a living from the charity stripe, making fourteen out of twenty attempts. The Cameroon international also added eight rebounds, an assist, and a block, as he was major factor in helping the defending champions pull away from the Bulldogs for good in the second quarter.
Complementing the reigning MVP is Ricci Rivero, who contributed sixteen points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Much like the Blue Eagles in the earlier matchup, balance dictated things, with eight Green Archers contributing between four and nine points.
The win assures them of a twice-to-beat advantage in the postseason, regardless of format. They would cap off the eliminations for the UAAP this season with their clash against archrivals Ateneo this Sunday.
J-jay Alejandro led the Jamike Jarin-coached side with twenty points on 6/18 shooting, going 5/16 from deep. Enzo Joson also added twenty points for the Bulldogs, who fell prey to the Mayhem pressing scheme with their 23 turnovers leading to sixteen La Salle points. Compounding matters for them are their 29 fouls, with both Issa Gaye and Matthew Aquino fouling out.
NU is on the outside looking in at 4-8, but they have a chance to still make a play for the fourth seed with their remaining matches against Far Eastern University on Wednesday and the University of the Philippines on Sunday. (c/o Kim Karlo Castro)
Note: Matt Salem is still recovering from dengue and did not play in this match. He said afterwards that he still needs an additional week to fully recover from the illness, which could potentially rule him out for the remainder of the eliminations.
No comments:
Post a Comment