Games tomorrow
2 p.m. – Ateneo vs NU (for third)
4 p.m. – La Salle vs Arellano (for title)
MANILA, Philippines - La Salle dominated the paint, sizzled from the outside and shackled Ateneo with its pesky defense, fashioning out a 92-77 victory to seal a title showdown with Arellano U in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
The Archers took control early, fought off the Eagles’ third quarter charge then outplayed their arch rivals in the fourth to post another runaway triumph, moving the Taft-based squad a win away from completing a sweep of the country’s premier pre-season league.
Thomas Torres took over for La Salle and shot 17 points as Cameroonian behemoth Ben Mbala settled for 16 markers and Jeron Teng went scoreless after the duo fired 32 and 28 points, respectively, in the Archers’ 91-71 rout of the Far Eastern U Tams in the quarters.
Teng saw action for just 15 minutes after tweaking an ankle in their last game.
La Salle also drew double-digit outputs from Aljun Melecio, Abu Tratter and Andrei Caracut, who made 15, 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Earlier, Jio Jalalon exploded for 34 points as Arellano U subdued National U, 94-85, to get a first-ever crack at the Filoil crown.
Jalalon, a vital cog in Gilas cadet’s gold medal triumph in the SEABA Championship in Thailand recently, capped his game-long brilliance with a pair of jumpers in the stretch as he helped preserve the Chiefs’ lead and the win to crash into the finals.
La Salle and Arellano dispute the crown at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
Jalalon went on an attack mode early, scoring 18 points in the first half alone and hit 15 of his 24 shots from the field in the last two quarters. He also had three rebounds and six assists.
Jalalon’s heroics came after he unleashed 21 points, eight boards, 10 assists and five steals in a shock 86-79 triumph over last year’s champion San Beda.
“He just wanted to win this game,” said Arellano U coach Jerry Codiñera of his prized cager.
The Chiefs are also seeking to become the third NCAA team to win this event since the Calvin Abueva-led San Sebastian Stags six years ago and the Ola Adeogun-paced San Beda Lions last year.
“We’ll do our best to make not just Arellano U proud but also the whole of NCAA,” said Codiñera.
Jalalon also drew solid back-up from Michael Salado, who had 18 points, three caroms, six assists and a game-high four steals, and Zach Nichols, who chipped in 11 points, including three triples.
Alfred Aroga powered his way to a 24-point output for NU but lost steam in the end.
“We were nervous late in the game because we thought they would catch up. Good thing we contained Aroga in the end,” said Jalalon.
Arellano U set the tone early and even led by double-digits in the third quarter but NU rallied to within 60-67 going to the fourth period.
The Bulldogs, who trounced the Adamson Falcons, 65-57, in the quarters, actually threatened at 83-86 on a basket by Aroga with less than three minutes to go.
But Jalalon scored back-to-back baskets to hold off the Bulldogs.
The scores:
First Game
Arellano 94 – Jalalon 34, Salado 18, Nichols 11, Flores 7, Enriquez 6, Gumaru 6, Canete 5, Meca 4, Villoria 3, Holts 0, Cadavis 0, Gupilan 0, Aguilar 0
NU 85 – Aroga 24, Morido 18, Abatayo 11, Mosqueda 9, Diputado 6, Go 6, Salim 5, Yu 2, Aquino 2, Labing-isa 2, Salem 0, Gallego 0, Cauilan 0, Lastimosa 0
Quarterscores: 20-19; 48-39; 67-60; 94-85
Second Game
La Salle 92 – Torres 17, Mabala 16, Melecio 15, Tratter 14, Caracut 13, Montalbo 7, Go 6, Gob 2, Rivero 2, Teng 0
Ateneo 77 – Black 24, Ravena 10, Wong 8, Porter 7, Tolentino 7, Ikeh 6, Go 4, Asistio 3, Nieto 2, Babilonia 2, Allmond 2, Mendoza 2, Banzon 0
Quarterscores: 27-14; 48-40; 66-56; 92-77