Archers send Tigers to limbo, stay solid at 3rd

ANTIPOLO CITY – A mean and green La Salle gave Aldin Ayo and his current team Santo Tomas hell in their post-Halloween matchup, hacking out a merciless 110-69 beating to stay rooted at third spot in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tourney yesterday at Ynares Center here.

Six Green Archers led by the hot-shooting Aljun Melecio buried the Tigers with big baskets after big baskets to set the tone for what’s turned out to be the secondbiggest winning margin since 2016. Interestingly, Ayo was on the other side of the fence back then when DLSU scored a 43-point rout of UST, 99-56.

Melecio tied his season-high 22, spiking his searing offensive with six triples, even as Mark Dyke made a career-best 16 and Caracut and Jollo Go added 15 and 14, respectively, and Justine Baltazar and Encho Serrano shot 13 apiece to power the Taft-based cagers to their seventh victory in 11 outings and within striking distance of second-running Adamson (8-2).

In the second game, University of the Philippines vaulted to solo fourth after conquering National U, 82-71.

Bright Akhuetie banged in 21 markers and grabbed eight rebounds and Juan Gomez de Liano flirted with a triple double of 10 points, nine boards and seven assists as the Maroons improved to 6-6 while sending the Bulldogs (3-8) to the brink.

The latest DLSU-UST encounter was basically a replay of their first-round encounter, where the Archers came out strong and didn’t let the Tigers gain confidence en route to a 99-72 rout.

“Tulad ng sinabi ko sa mga bata this is a result of good practice for the whole week. I was hoping sana mag-translate sa win kasi talagang for the entire week nag-sakripisyo lahat, holiday na pero kami nagtatrabaho pa rin,” said La Salle coach Louie Gonzalez.

“Challenge ko sa kanila, just be consistent. There are things we’re doing well but we shouldn’t stop there, ” said Gonzalez.”