SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The EcoOil-La Salle Green Archers clinched an outright semifinals berth in the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup with an easy 102-79 demolition of the Wangs-Letran Knights in the final game of the eliminations at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on Thursday, June 1.
Despite missing the services of their top point guard Evan Nelle, the Green Archers dominated the Knights from start to finish, thanks to a monster performance by Kevin Quiambao, who dropped a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Mur Alao added 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 clip from beyond the arc, while Michael Phillips delivered his usual numbers of 9 points and 13 rebounds as La Salle became the second and final team to advance automatically to the semifinals, joining the top-seeded Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda Red Lions.
Coming off an 83-point annihilation of the AMA Online Titans – the biggest winning margin in PBA D-League history – in its previous outing, La Salle picked up where it left off and quickly led Letran by double figures, 13-3, off a triple by Alao just 2 minutes and 50 seconds into the game.
The Green Archers kept their foot on the gas the rest of the way and created a comfortable 21-point separation over the Knights at halftime, 55-34, before extending it to as many as 25 points, 102-77, in the dying seconds of the highly physical and chippy affair.
Kurt Reyson led the Knights with 21 points, while Kobe Monje and Kevin Santos had 16 and 14, respectively.
With the loss, Letran slid to the fourth spot and will go up against the fifth-seeded CEU Scorpions in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, June 6.
The third-ranked Perpetual Help Altas and the No. 6 PSP Gymers, meanwhile, will duke it out in the other quarterfinal pairing.
Both the Knights and the Altas will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
The Scores
EcoOil-La Salle 102 – Quiambao 28, Alao 10, M. Phillips 9, Nonoy 8, Manuel 7, Escandor 7, Abadam 6, Nwankwo 6, B. Phillips 5, Macalalag 4, Cortez 4, Estacio 4, Gollena 3, David 1.
Wangs-Letran 79 – Reyson 21, Monje 16, Santos 14, Cuajao 7, Bojorcelo 6, Fajardo 5, Javillonar 4, Tolentino 3, Laquindanum 2, Go 1, Brillantes 0, Alarcon 0, Ariar 0, Guarino 0.
Quarters: 27-19, 55-34, 75-55, 102-79.
– Rappler.com
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