The Ateneo Blue Eagles tried but failed to stop big man Ben Mbala under the paint.
The 6’7 Mbala went on to dominate the paint with 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead the La Salle Green Archers to a 67-65 beating of the Blue Eagles on Saturday in Game 1 of the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
They tried to make things difficult in the final moments of the fourth period. But Aljun Melecio and Jeron Teng delivered the big plays in the last four minutes, and this brought La Salle closer to their ninth men’s title since 2013.
The Green Archers were intimidating from the start, taking charge with an 18-2 run which Teng led with six of his 10 point tally.
The 6’2 Teng only had 10 points, but his basket following a turnover by Mike Nieto, and his block off Aaron Black’s attempt in the final made all the difference.
Games Wednesday (Game 2 at the Araneta Coliseum)
11 a.m. La Salle vs NU (women’s finals)
4 p.m. Ateneo vs La Salle (men’s finals)
Mbala’s huge presence underneath caused La Salle to outrebound Ateneo, 49-45, and Black and Ikeh limited to just 8 and 9 boards, and rookie big man Isaac held to just two underneath.
“Gusto lang namin na hindi sila makakuha ng maraming rebounds as a team. Lahat kasi sila nagre-rebound eh,” said Green Archers coach Aldin Ayo on their game which was witnessed by 16,712 paying fans.
Mbala took charge in the second period and finished with seven points and five rebounds at halftime.
This included a split charity with 1:28 left that gave La Salle a 35-24 edge before the first half ended.
The Blue Eagles drew seven of nine points from John Wong in the third, and as they mounted a big rally, and they moved ahead, 52-51, with 41.7 seconds to go off Raffy Verano’s two freebies.
“I guess it was just that we were intimidated by La Salle’s press. It was good. Nakahabol nga kami. Pero sayang ang start, nag 16-2 sila. We could have avoided it,” said Ravena, who spoke on behalf of coach Tab Baldwin.
La Salle tied the contest, 52-all off Andrei Caracut’s charity when the period ended. Then, the Blue Eagles stayed close in the last period, but their big men Isaac Go and Chibueze Ikeh fell into foul trouble.
As La Salle moved ahead, 64-59, off two charities and a drive from Mbala, Ateneo pressed on and stayed within range.
Ikeh’s penetrations past Mbala kept Ateneo close, 63-64.
They had a chance to overtake La Salle after Teng’s basket in the last 39.4 seconds was nullified due 24-second violation. They moved ahead, 65-64, following Matt Nieto’s drive off Aljun Melecio in the final 34.6 seconds.
At this point, Teng took charge for La Salle as hit the layup in the last 15.1 seconds. His basket put La Salle ahead, 66-65.
Aaron Black, who shot a game-high 12 points, tried going for a basket in the next play. But Teng got in the way of his block. Kib Montalbo, who only had four points, then put La Salle out of harm’s way with 3.3 ticks left.
In the women’s finals, National University weathered a late stand by La Salle as it came out with a 77-74 victory to take Game One women’s basketball finals.
The Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Archers, 28-10, in the third quarter and this helped them weather a fourth-quarter rally.
Gemma Miranda tallied 23 points, 15 boards, five assists, and two steals to lead the national team-loaded Lady Bulldogs.
This allowed the Lady Bulldogs to stretch their unbeaten run this season to 15 games, closing in on a season sweep. The two-time defending champions can take the crown if they take in Game Two on Wednesday.
The scores:
First game (women’s finals)
NU 77 – Miranda 23, Animam 14, Nabalan 11, Itesi 11, Bernardino 10, Camelo 3, Ceno 3, Del Carmen 2
La Salle 74 – Castillo 18, Penaranda 16, Claro 15, Revillosa 14, Nunez 7, Arciga 2, Vergara 2, Vela 0
Quarterscores: 20-19; 28-39; 56-49; 77-74,
Second game (men’s finals)
DLSU 67 – Mbala 20, Melecio 12, Teng 10, Sargent 7, Torres 5, Montalbo 4, Rivero P 3, Tratter 3, Rivero R 2, Caracut 1, Perkins 0, Baltazar 0
ATENEO 65 – Black 12, Wong 9, Ravena 8, Ikeh 8, Nieto Mi 8, Go 6, Verano 5, Nieto Ma 5, Tolentino 2, Asistio 2, Porter 0, Mendoza 0
QUARTER SCORES: 19-6, 36-26, 52-52, 67-65