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| Ricci Rivero fired 16 as La Salle manhaldle NU. |
QUEZON CITY -- Defending UAAP champions La Salle stomped their class over an undermanned NU side in their penultimate game of the regular season with a 101-76 rout Saturday evening at the Big Dome.
With the winning streak extended to six, the Green Archers are going for their titanic clash with archrival Ateneo on the final day of eliminations eight days from now.
Reigning MVP Ben Mbala stomped his class above the rest as he scored 30 points on 8/12 clip from inside the arc and fired 14/20 from the stripe.
With Matt Salem still out, Jayjay Alejandro and Enzo Joson lead the way for the Bulldogs with 20 points each but were out-hustled in the second half, coupled by the graduation of Issa Gaye and Matt Aquino to send them on the brink of elimination as they fall to a 4-8 card.
Despite a rough start by the Green Archers in the first quarter, they were able to slowly get their game going by going ahead by six after an early shootout with the Bulldogs.
In the second quarter, La Salle slowly pulled away as they play a more composed game as they lead by twelve at the break.
The Green Archers then pulled away for good in the second half, with Mbala scoring 11 third quarter points to put the game away from the Bulldogs' reach.
The scores:
La Salle 101 -- Mbala 30, Rivero R 16, Santillan 9, Montalbo 8, Go 8, Caracut 7, Melecio 5, Tratter 5, Paraiso 5, Baltazar 4, Rivero P 2, Tero 2, Gonzales 0, Capacio 0
NU 76 -- Alejandro 20, Joson 20, Gaye 12, Lastimosa 5, Diputado 4, Rangel 4, Aquino 3, Mosqueda 2, Tibayan 2, Yu 2, Bartlett 2, Cauilan 0, Morido 0, Flores 0, Abatayo 0
Quarter scores: 26-20, 47-35, 73-57, 101-76.
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