De La Salle Green Archers go 3-0 in Mbala return
NU Bulldogs keep UST Growling Tigers winless
IT was a triumphant return in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) for Cameroonian player Ben Mbala as he helped the defending champions De La Salle Green Archers beat the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 85-73, yesterday and notch their third straight win in as many games.
Missed the Archers’ first two games in UAAP Season 80 to play for the Cameroonian national team in the recent FIBA AfroBasket tournament, reigning league most valuable player Mbala wasted no time making his presence felt.
In the first game, the National University (NU) Bulldogs had it tough but found a way to emerge on top to beat the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 94-84, to pad their record to 2-1 while keeping UST winless to date early in the season.
Mbala set the tone for the Archers, scoring 10 of the team’s 17 points halfway into the opening frame while holding down the Falcons to just three points.
They would double their output the rest of the way to take a 36-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Adamson competed better in the second period, even trimming its deficit to 15 points, 46-31, at the two-minute mark.
But Mbala once again led a pull away by La Salle to preserve a 55-33 advantage at the break.
In the third period, La Salle tapered a bit just as Adamson cranked up things.
The Falcons got close by seven points, 68-61 with under 30 seconds on the clock.
Taft- based La Salle though would remain in the lead at the end of the quarter, 70-61.
Sparked by their run in the third canto, the Falcons continued to push in the fourth.
They got to bring down the Archers’ lead to just seven, 75-68, with five minutes remaining.
But Mbala and the rest of the Archers went to work after to keep the Falcons at bay and not let any comeback to happen, holding on for the win.
Mbala wound up with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in 33 minutes in his first game back.
Leonard Santillan had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Robbie Manalang finished with 16 points for Adamson, which fell to 1-2.
For winning coach Aldin Ayo, the win still left much to be desired for the way they finished things even as he welcomed back Mbala with open arms.
“It was a bad win for us. We played well in the first half but faltered in the second. The immaturity of the team showed in this game,” said Mr. Ayo.
“But good thing Ben is back. We are now complete and we can make the necessary adjustments,” he added.
NU WINS
Earlier in the day, NU rebounded from its loss in its previous game by outlasting UST.
The two teams had it tight in the opening half, with the Bulldogs holding solitary point leads at the end of the first quarter, 2524, and at halftime, 51-50.
NU got off to a fast start in the third frame, going on an 11-4 run in the first five minutes to stretch its lead to eight points, 62-54.
The Tigers though answered with a 6-0 blast in the next minute and a half to trim their deficit to just one point, 62-61 and eventually tied the score at 65-all with less than three minutes to play.
Led by Regie Basibas, UST continued to roll, outscoring NU, 8-5 thereafter to complete the turnaround at the end of the third canto, 73-70.
With the outcome of the match still very much open, the protagonists battled it out in the final frame.
The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead, 77-76, with seven minutes to go.
They then extended it to three points, 81-78, at the 5:38 mark.
Sensing that they had the Tigers on their back, the Bulldogs stepped up their defense that bore a seven-point cushion, 8780, with less than four minutes left.
UST cut NU’s lead to three, 87- 83, at the two- minute mark before Dave Yu drained a triple to extend their lead anew.
The Bulldogs never looked back thereafter to book the win.
Foreign player Issa Gaye led NU with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
Yu had 13 while Jayjay Alejandro had 12 and Manuel Mosqueda finished with 11 points.
Basibas had 23 points to pace UST, which dropped to 0-3 after its latest loss.
“It was a hard- fought game. UST dictated the tempo for much of the game but good thing we were able to make a run and come up with the win,” said NU coach Jamike Jarin after the game.