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Ben Mbala with a two-handed throwdown for the exclamation point.
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By JP Abcede
PASAY--De La Salle, sans Jeron Teng and head coach Aldin
Ayo, mastered the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 97-81, on Sunday at
the Mall of Asia Arena to complete a sweep of the first round of the UAAP men’s
basketball competition.
After ADMU started the second period with two straight
three-pointers, the Green Archers responded with a 13-0 run and never looked
back, leading by as many as 27, 85-58, early in the final period.
Big Ben Mbala spearheaded the domination with numbers of
28 points on 11/13 shooting, 13 rebounds, and five steals in 30 minutes of
action.
Both Andrei Caracut and Abu Tratter shot 50% on the field
to finish with 14 and ten markers, respectively.
Adrian Wong led the Eagles with 15 points, four rebounds,
and four assists, as Matthew Nieto came up with 13.
Anton Asistio and Thirdy Ravena finished with 11
markers each, the latter completing a double-double with 11 boards.
The green and white crew more than had double the
offensive rebounds (23) and four times more steals (16) than Ateneo. The
victors had 21 second chance points as well as 21 fast break points in 13
attempts.
The Katipunan-based squad committed 30 turnovers, letting
DLSU score 33 points off those errors.
The Eagles conclude the first round with a 4-3 win-loss
record, good enough to be tied for third with whichever team loses in the game
between National University and Far Eastern University on Wednesday. Adamson
University can join in that logjam if it wins against University of Santo Tomas
three days from now.
Box Scores:
La Salle 97–Mbala
28, Caracut 14, Tratter 10, R Rivero 8, Montalbo 8, Torres 8, Perkins 5,
Melecio 5, Dyke 4, Paraiso 2, Go 2, Baltazar 2, P Rivero 1, Sargent 0
Ateneo 81–Wong
15, Ma Nieto 13, Asistio 11, Ravena 11, Mendoza 9, Ikeh 7, Porter 6, Go 5,
Babilonia 2, Mi Nieto 2, Tolentino 0, Verano 0.
Quarterscores: 20-20, 53-36, 80-58, 97-81
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