FilOil: La Salle downs Adamson, CSB drubs Letran in battles of shorthanded teams

MANILA, Philippines – The La Salle Green Archers showed they still have one of the tournament’s most loaded rosters as they downed the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 77-67, in a quadruple-header FilOil preseason slate of shorthanded teams in San Juan City on Wednesday, May 17.

Playing without Gilas Pilipinas’ newly minted Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medalist Michael Phillips and team reserve Ben Phillips, La Salle leaned on Kevin Quiambao, another national team stalwart, who tallied 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in the win.

Prospect EJ Gollena scored 17 off the bench on a perfect 7-of-7 clip in just 14 minutes, while resurgent spark plug Mark Nonoy added 15 points in just 20 minutes.

“This tournament gives us a lot of learning opportunities. We were already leading, but made some bad decisions. Good thing we were able to recover,” said La Salle coach Topex Robinson after his team let Adamson get as close as 4, 67-63, in the clutch before pulling away.

Bruiser Cedrick Manzano and sniper Matty Erolon each scored 15 for Adamson, which played without top guards Joem Sabandal and Michael Phillips’ SEA Games gold-winning teammate Jerom Lastimosa.

Meanwhile, the CSB Blazers made light work of their top NCAA adversaries Letran Knights, 78-66, in the fourth and final game of the day.

Despite still playing without reigning NCAA MVP Will Gozum and getting a scoreless 21-minute outing from core piece Mark Sangco, CSB found a 15-point offensive spark from veteran gunner Migs Oczon and a 14-point game from newcomer Felipe Marasigan.

Letran, on the other hand, banked on new primary option Kobe Monje’s 16 points on a perfect 3-of-3 clip from downtown, as senior lead guard Kurt Reyson was held to just 5 points in 11 minutes off the bench.

UE hands FAITH Batangas 55-point shellacking, Lyceum escapes San Sebastian

In the day’s curtain-raiser, the UE Red Warriors dismissed the mismatched FAITH Colleges Bravehearts with a 55-point whipping, 119-64.

UAAP Season 85 late bloomer Noy Remogat chipped in an easy 20-point spurt in just 17 minutes, while reserve Ryzel Gilbuena got a 24-minute play time lion’s share due to the early rout, and delivered 12 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals as a result.

At the losing end, Lance Villamor and Steven de Castro scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, in another valuable training experience for the guest squad.

Finally, the Lyceum Pirates edged NCAA rival San Sebastian in the closest game of the day, 73-66.

Simon Peñafiel and Renz Villegas took over the reins from the absent Enoch Valdez and John Barba with a pair of team-high 14-point efforts.

Veteran forward Rommel Calahat paced the loss with a game-best 15 points, while the returning James Una added 10 points, 8 boards, and 3 steals in a 34-minute marathon. – Rappler.com