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La Salle snares win No.5, clips Falcons

Kib Montalbo provided stability on both ends, earning La Salle its fifth straight win. 

By Ricky Manliguis

PASAY CITY—De La Salle is on a roll.

The Archers put on a scintillating performance as it walloped Adamson University, 91-75, to stretch its winning streak to five in the UAAP Season LXXIX men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Drawing another monster game from Ben Mbala, plus the off-the-bench contributions of Aljun Melecio and Kib Montalbo, the Taft-based squad dominated right from the get-go to beat the Falcons, now handled by former coach Franz Pumaren.

After building a 39-26 first half lead anchored on a 13-2 scoring spurt led by Jeron Teng, the Archers were never threatened until the final buzzer. The lead went as high as 19 at some point.

The Falcons could only come to as close as 11 points, only to fell short in the end.

The Cameroonian Mbala led four others in double figures, coming out with 21 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, four steals, and three blocks on an efficient 9-for-11 field goal shooting. Teng added 15, plus four assists and three rebounds.

Melecio and Montalbo also came out smoking, as the duo combined for 25 of DLSU’s 36 bench points. The latter also had eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals, as he provided the needed energy on both ends.

Jerrick Ahanmisi led the Falcons, which remained at second place on a 3-2 win-loss card, with 22 points, four boards, and three assists. Robbie Manalang was the second leading scorer with 15, while center Papi Sarr issued 14 and 15 boards.

The scores:

DLSU 91 — Mbala 21, Teng 15, Melecio 13, Montalbo 12, Torres 11, Baltazar 7, Tratter 6, Go 2, Sargent 2, R. Rivero 2, Caracut 0.

Adamson 75 — Ahanmisi 22, Manalang 15, Sarr 14, Pasturan 9, Manganti 6, Tungcab 5, Espeleta 2, Ochea 1, Mustre 1, Ng 0, Bernardo 0, Chua 0, Camacho 0.

Quarterscores: 22-17, 49-34, 66-52, 91-75.

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