JERON Teng returned to the floor just in time to save De La Salle from losing its momentum late in the third quarter, igniting a crucial 15-0 as the Green Archers escaped with a hard-earned 72-68 win over the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons last night in the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.
The victory kept the Archers in the thick of the race for a berth in the Final Four with a 6-7 (win-loss) card in a tie with defending champion National University Bulldogs.
Teng, who hurt his back after a bad fall in the first quarter and had to be rested for several minutes, finished with a game-high 20 points.
Still, Teng had a lot of help from Prince Rivero and Jason Perkins in the decisive final last minutes, as the two alternated in scoring against the Maroons’ zone defense.
After Jet Manuel gave UP a 60-54 edge, Rivero drove in twice and Perkins forced his way underneath for a layup, touching off a decisive scoring run which put La Salle on top, 69-60, with 2:52 to go.
Teng then knocked in two charities to cap the run in the last 2:52 and added two more in the last 18.4 seconds to seal the win, 71-66.
Manuel led the Maroons with 15 points, while Christian Moralde added 14 as UP stayed near the bottom at 3-10.
“Always (close). I think it’s the sense of urgency that the players showed today. They showed tremendous heart going into the game today,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler.
Earlier, University of Santo Tomas made sure there would be no complications for their drive to the top two places in the Final Four as the Growling Tigers had all cyclinders clicking in crushing the Adamson Falcons, 78-63,
Ferrer had 25 points, including four triples, and pulled down ten rebounds for the Growling Tigers, who remained at no. 2 behind the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
UST pocketed its 11th win in 14 matches and secured a twice-to-beat edge, but will still gun for the top spot in the Final Four.
Ferrer was at his best in the third period, where he scored 12 points.
“Sinabi ko sa team, dito namin kukunin ang kumpiyansa namin. At least, nakita namin kung hanggang saan kami,” said Ferrer.
Louie Vigil chipped in 15 points while Karim Abdul added 11 for UST, which took the half comfortabley, 37-26.
Vigil scored 10 of his 15 in the first half alone to give the Tigers an 11-point spread going into the third frame.
Ed Daquioag, who had 15, sparked UST’s breakaway by scoring six, including back-to-back baskests for a 12-0 headstart in the first five minutes.
“Eto na iyung pinaghirapan namin. Antay na lang kami ng makakalaban,” said UST coach Bong de la Cruz.
Ferrer drilled in three triples in the middle of an 11-0 run and added two more charities to hand UST a 49-33 spread. He hit his fourth triple in the final 4:18, giving UST an insurmountable 25-point, 73-48 lead en route to the win.