By Ivan Saldajeno
SAN JUAN, MM--La Salle won in its first game with Aldin Ayo at the helm with a 98-88 victory over fellow UAAP squad Adamson at the start of the FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup at the FilOil Flying V Centre on Saturday.
Originally scheduled in the afternoon but was moved to the morning at the 11th hour due to TV coverage matters, the Green Archers made up for an error-prone outing with effective shooting, making 56 percent of their baskets, to get the win in their first meeting against former coach Franz Pumaren, who steered them to a four-peat from 1998 to 2001.
Jeron Teng fired 30 points on 9-of-16 field goals and 11-of-14 free throws, while GBoy Gob, who played power forward while teaming up with Ben Mbala inside, added 29 on 9-of-10 shooting for La Salle.
Mbala, who will finally be activated for next season's UAAP basketball wars, made 13 points, ten rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and one steal in an impressive all-around performance while containing Pape Sarr, who was limited to only six points and six rebounds.
Kib Montalbo, who returned from an ACL injury he suffered during last year's FilOil tournament, made nine points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal off the bench.
Aljun Melecio and Ricci Rivero were quiet in their respective college debuts as the former La Salle-Zobel star only made three points while the former La Salle Greenhills scoring machine was blanked in four minutes of play.
Sean Manganti made 13 markers, while former Green Archer Terrence Mustre added 11 for Adamson, who themselves had a bunch of turnovers the entire game.
Jerrick Ahanmisi, the younger brother of Rain Or Shine rookie Maverick, had five points in his first Philippine college game.
Box Scores:
La Salle 98-Teng 30, Gob 20, Mbala 13, Montalbo 9, Caracut 7, Torres 6, Tratter 6, Go 4, Melecio 3, R. Rivero 0
Adamson 88-Manganti 13, Manalang 11, Mustre 11, Ng 10, Ochea 10, Sarr 6, Pasturan 6, Escalambre 6, Ahanmisi 5, Bernardo 5, Cadua 4, Espeleta 2, Garcia 0
Quarterscores: 28-17, 48-45, 69-63, 98-88
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