By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE De La Salle Green Archers got the better of former coach Aldin Ayo after beating the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 99-72, in University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 action on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Met for the first time since parting ways late last year, the Archers (3-2) dominated Mr. Ayo and the Tigers (1-4) right from the start to move back into the win column of the ongoing season while sending UST to its third straight defeat.
The teams had a brief feeling-out period to start the contest before La Salle began its move.
It scored the first four points before racing to an 11-2 lead by the halfway point of the opening quarter led by big man Justine Baltazar.
UST tried to make up for lost ground behind Renzo Subido and Joshua Marcos but had little headway as they trailed, 28-13, after 10 minutes.
The Archers continued to pound on the Tigers, outscoring the latter, 12-5, in the first three minutes of the second canto to stretch their lead to 40-18.
From there it was all La Salle with the team holding a 54-34 advantage after the first half.
To start the third, the Tigers came out with more bite, scoring five quick points to narrow the gap, 54-39, with a minute and a half lapsing.
Baltazar and Aljun Melicio though would stand high for the Archers, helping their team keep its dominance, 60-43, at the halfway juncture of the frame.
The Tigers kept on angling to claw their way back only to be rebuffed by the Archers each time.
The count stood at 71-51 entering the fourth period.
With the match pretty much sealed, La Salle spent the final canto holding down any fight-back attempts by UST.
The Archers’ lead was at 26 points, 82-56, with five minutes remaining and they just cruised from there to the victory.
Baltazar led the way for La Salle with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks followed by Melecio with 19 points.
Andrei Caracut had 13 points while Santi Santillan and Jolo Go had 11 points each.
Subido finished with 16 points to lead UST with Marvin Lee and Zach Wang adding 13 apiece.
“The game plan today was to play at a high level for 40 minutes and I think we were able to do that. Good thing many contributed and stepped up,” said winning coach Louie Gonzalez in the postgame press conference.
“We really needed to win this game to put us in a good position moving forward,” he added.
La Salle next plays rival Ateneo de Manila University on Oct. 6 while UST takes on University of the East on the same day.

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