Archers let loose in the 3rd to keep Blue Eagles winless

MANILA, Philippines -- The La Salle Green Archers pulled away in the second half and dealt the Ateneo Blue Eagles their third straight loss in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, 74-61, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Sunday.

Ateneo scored just four points in the third quarter as the defending champions were just too much for the young Eagles.

Kevin Quiambao flirted with a triple-double to finish with 13 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Mike Phillips added 13 markers, 14 boards, three steals and two dimes in 20 minutes off the bench.

La Salle took a commanding lead in the second quarter, 36-25, before Ateneo clawed back.

The Blue Eagles unleashed a 15-4 run capped by a Waki Espina triple to tie the game up at 40 in the second quarter.

Since then, the Green Archers just clamped down on defense and ran away in the third frame, taking a 59-44 lead heading into the final canto.

It was enough separation for the Taft-based squad, as their lead grew to as much as 20 points, 66-46, in the final frame.

Jared Bahay tried to will Ateneo back, sinking back-to-back triples to cut the lead to 13, 59-72.

However, a pair of free throws by Quiambao with 1:15 remaining slammed the door shut.

“Again, we just stayed disciplined in what we do. We made a lot of mistakes along the line. We had 22 turnovers and that’s something we have to work on," La Salle head coach Topex Robinson said. 

"Ateneo threw a lot of freak defense on us and good thing, we’re able to get our bearings back to get the win," he added. 

JC Macalalag had nine points and five rebounds for La Salle, while Joshua David added eight.

Shawn Tuano led the Katipunan-based ballers with a game-high 18 points and six rebounds. Andrew Bongo had nine, while Bahay and Kristian Porter each finished with eight.

La Salle hauled down 62 rebounds, a much-higher figure than Ateneo's 38. They were also able to keep Ateneo to shooting just 30.8% from the field. 

The 0-3 start is the worst for the Blue Eagles in 10 seasons.

La Salle rose to solo first with a 3-0 slate.