After five years and seven matches, the DLSU Green Archers have finally outplayed the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
The De La Salle archers brought down their archrivals the Ateneo Blue Eagles in a thrilling 83-78 win in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament at the historic Smart Araneta Coliseum last Sunday, October 9.
Schonny Winston put on a show in front of more than 12,000 crowd to beat the mighty Blue Eagles for the first time since November 2017, when the Taft-based squad equalized the finals series which they eventually dropped.
The high-scoring guard put up 25 points, including the two crucial free throws that broke the last tied game of the match, five rebounds and six assists to deal the Ateneans their first loss in their redemption season in the UAAP.
“I think the boys really worked hard. They believed that they can beat Ateneo, it really worked. And [also] prepared for Ateneo. Even though we were down, we were able to regroup no’ng second quarter and we were able to tie and got the [first] lead. Hats off to my guys,” said DLSU head coach Derrick Pumaren.
The returning Evan Nelle did not seem to lose his rhythm as he proved to be a vital cog in the team coming through with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Motor Mike Phillips tallied six points, 11 boards and one chipped tooth.
Reigning UAAP MVP Ange Kouame registered a season-high 22 points and 12 boards in hopes to put his team on the winning end together with rookie Kai Ballungay who had a stellar outing with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
It did not help that Ateneo’s reliable scorers in Forthsky Padrigao and Dave Ildefonso failed to salvage the game as the starting guard was misfiring all match long having only made two of his 18 shots from the field, including going one of 12 from the three-point range.
La Salle now shares the second spot with Ateneo and National University while the University of the Philippines stays on top of the standings with three straight victories.
Tags: #UAAP, #basketball, #rival