Archers whip Tams, near UAAP final

Game today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4 p.m. – NU vs UST (Final Four)

Game on Wednesday (Mall of Asia Arena)

4 p.m. – DLSU vs FEU (Final Four)

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle rode on the hot shooting of L.A. Revilla as it drubbed Far Eastern, 74-69, to gain the No. 2 spot and the twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball Final Four yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Revilla rifled in 20 points, spiked by six triples, to lead a 34.4 percent (11-of-32) three-point shooting for the on-target Archers, who snared the win-once incentive going to their F4 showdown on Wednesday.

“We worked on it (outside shooting) last week. We knew they (Tams) would give us those kinds of shots, and we’re just fortunate we made them,” said coach Juno Sauler after steering La Salle to its first twice-to-beat edge in the F4 since 2008.

The Archers got off to a sizzling start, seizing a 36-25 upperhand behind their outside shooting, and went on to quash every uprising that FEU made.

Just when the Tams cut down on the Archers’ 14-point spread and threatened at 63-68, Revilla knocked in a huge trey at the corner to hand DLSU a fresh eight-point margin with 49.6 seconds remaining.

“Blessed lang ako at binigyan ako ng open chances (I was given open looks from the outside and I just took them),” said Revilla who shot six of 13 from the field overall.

The Tams tried to salvage the situation and had some chances in the last 49 seconds but flubbed their attempts from rainbow country. Overall, FEU bombed with a 5-of-34 three-point shooting (14.7 percent) with MVP Terrence Romeo struggling with 6-of-21 field goals for 20 points.

“We shot well from the three. We played good defense. We limited them to 14 percent on three-points. But there’s a lot to be done,” said Sauler.

Unbeaten in its last eight games, DLSU will gun for a finals berth on Wednesday in the F4 proper.

“It’s a good win for us but there’s nothing to celebrate about. We still have to beat them one more time to get into the finals,” said Jeron Teng, who chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds to complement Revilla and Jason Perkins (14 points).

RR Garcia backstopped Romeo with 16 markers and eight boards.