DLSU seeks to play better to keep title retention hopes alive
ADMITTING to have been outplayed in Game One of their bestof-three University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Finals last Saturday, the defending champions De La Salle Green Archers seek to play better collectively when they reengage rivals Ateneo Blue Eagles tomorrow for Game Two and in the process keep their title retention hopes alive.
Fell 76-70 in the series opener, the Taft-based Archers now face a must-win situation when they trek back to the court, set for 4 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Failure to secure the win means the end of their title reign.
La Salle said its inability to execute its game plan especially down the stretch did not helped its cause.
Making matters worse for the Archers, league most valuable player Ben Mbala was limited to just eight points, considerably low from his 25-point average.
“We had problems with our communication on the court and we were not able to execute our game plan especially in the fourth quarter,” said guard Aljun Melecio, who led La Salle in Game One with 24 points, as he explained what partly did it for them in the loss to a group of reporters.
Just the same, Melecio said all is not lost for them and they just have to take care of business in Game Two and take it from there.
“Better to lose now early so as to be able to make the adjustments moving forward,” said Melecio, adding that he hopes to improve on his Game One showing with better decision making.
BE AGGRESSIVE
On the part of Mbala, who had 12 rebounds and four assists on top of the eight points he had, he is looking to be more aggressive in the next game so as to put himself in better position to help his team more.
“Expect me to be aggressive in Game Two. They held me to eight points and credit to them. But it’s only Game One and we have to bounce back,” said Mbala, who had four fouls in the series opener which somehow stymied his ability to leave his imprint on the game.
Just like Melecio, the Cameroonian player underscored the need for them to play out their game plan and rise over the hype of the La Salle-Ateneo rivalry if they are to pull off the win and force a rubber match.
“We have to stick to our game plan. Some of our players had it tough in the game maybe because they got excited of the whole La Salle- Ateneo thing. Obviously when we lose the next game it’s over. So we just have to go out there and play and get the win,” said Mbala.
The ongoing finals is the sixth time that La Salle and Ateneo are facing each other in the UAAP finals.
The Eagles hold the edge in head-to-head championship encounter, 3-2.