By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
FRESH from their victory in their last outing that halted for them a two-game losing streak in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the De La Salle Green Archers look to sustain their winning form when they collide with the streaking University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Playing in the 4 p.m. match of the scheduled triple-header, the Archers (2-3) are out to build on their 68-61 victory over the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Sept. 21 and gain some lost ground as the first round of the eliminations nears completion.
Against the Falcons, La Salle bucked a shaky start and then held tough in the end to make its way to the much-needed victory.
Graduating player Andrei Caracut stepped up big for the Archers late in the game, burying two triples inside the final minute of the contest to fend off the Falcons, who competed all the way to the end.
Caracut finished with 15 points while Justine Baltazar (21 points and 14 rebounds) and Jamie Malonzo (12 and 11) had double-doubles for La Salle.
After the win, La Salle coach Gian Nazario said it was a big relief for them to end a two-game losing streak, seeing how the path for them moving forward would not be easy.
“Thank you, Lord, for the game. It’s been tough for us. We really felt the pressure as a team, coaching staff, players, everyone in the team, we felt the pressure… Just seeing our schedule in the first round, it’s been really tough. We play then we have two days, we play again the next day, two days, we play again the next day… I think we just have to not worry about the schedule but focus on what we’re good at as a team,” said Mr. Nazario.
Meanwhile, out to stop the Archers are the Maroons (4-1), winners of their last three games.
The most recent of UP’s win was over the University of the East Red Warriors, 62-56, also on Sept. 21.
The Maroons struggled against the Warriors but managed to pull off the win in the end.
Bright Akhuetie led UP in the win with 16 points followed by Javi Gomez De Liano with 15 points.
Kobe Paras finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Maroons.
Recognizing that they had many lapses in their last game, UP coach Bo Perasol said they would try to cut down on them and play more fluid when they face La Salle.
“La Salle has a tough team. We know the kind of personnel they have. We hope to improve on this game to have a better chance against a powerhouse team like La Salle,” Mr. Perasol said.
Also playing today are the Far Eastern University Tamaraws (2-3) against the National University Bulldogs (0-5) at 10:30 a.m. and the Ateneo Blue Eagles (5-0) versus UE (1-4) at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Paras was named UAAP player of the week after helping UP to three straight wins since joining the team, including victories over NU and UE.
In winning the award, given by media covering the league, Paras topped Ateneo’s Angelo Kouame, University of Santo Tomas’ Sherwin Concepcion, and La Salle‘s Caracut and Baltazar.
