DLSU beats rival Ateneo as Torralba, Teng come up clutch

MANILA, Philippines – Round one goes to the guys in green.

The De La Salle University Green Archers rallied from a 15-point deficit and hit the big shots late to take down the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 80-76 on Sunday, October 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Facing a double-digit lead for most of the first half, the Green Archers opened the second half with an impressive 18-4 run that was spearheaded by 3-pointers from Joshua Torralba and Thomas Torres.

Both teams went nip and tuck the rest of the way, until DLSU hit the big shots and free throws that settled the victory late in the fourth quarter.

Jeron Teng led the wining side with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Torres had his best game of the season by accounting for 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Jason Perkins broke out of his slump and finished with 13 points and 5 boards, while Prince Rivero also played well with 10 points and 10 boards.

Torralba scored 9 points, but none was more important than the final 4.

“[It was a] hard fought game between the two teams,” DLSU head coach Juno Sauler said after the contest.

A step back jumper by Kiefer Ravena tied the game ay 74-all with 2:30 left in the contest. After both teams went scoreless for over a minute, Chibueze Ikeh scored on a clutch layup to put his team up two.

La Salle looked in trouble as they turned the ball over on the inbound play, but Ravena missed a jumper. With 33.9 seconds left, Teng found an open Torralba from the left corner, and he drilled the 3-ball.

“He’s been working on the 3 in practice, so it paid dividends today,” Sauler said.

“It was a big shot. I was a little frustrated during the game. I shot pretty bad. Good thing I made that big shot,” Torralba added in the post-game presser.

Ravena then missed a step-back jumper with a few seconds remaining. Torralba was then fouled and split his charities, but with just .3 seconds remaining on the clock, there wasn’t enough time for Ateneo to score anymore.

Ravena had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, but went just 7-of-24 from the field and 5-of-9 from the foul stripe.

Ikeh finished with 13 points on 100% shooting from the field, while Gwayne Capacio scored 10 points.

Ateneo shot 45% from the floor while DLSU shot just 38%. La Salle made 8 triples, however, while the Blue Eagles converted just 3.

The Green Archers won against the Blue Eagles for the fourth time in the last 5 games.

Both teams end the first round with identical 4-3 records.

Scores:

DLSU (80): Teng 18, Torres 15, Perkins 13, Rivero 10, Torralba 9, Caracut 6, Tratter 4, Navarro 3, Muyang 2, Sargent 0

ADMU (76): Ravena 19, Ikeh 13, Capacio 10, Gotladera 8, Pessumal 8, Tolentino 7, Pingoy 6, Apacible 2, Babilonia 2, Nieto 1, Cani 0

Quarter scores: 13-25, 36-46, 61-61, 80-76

– Rappler.com