Okay,
so it only took the De La Salle Green Archers eight men to beat the UP Fighting
Maroons.
That
makes me wonder about a few things:
1) Have
we just seen Juno Sauler’s solid 8-man main rotation? To the other 5 guys on
the roster – Oda Tampus, LA Revilla, Gab Reyes, Matt Salem and sought-after
rookie Kib Montalbo – hey, if you couldn’t crack the playing lineup against UP,
then what does that say, right?
2) What
does this say about coach Sauler’s decision to cut his team to a league-low 13
spots? Didn’t he say he cut the other three because he couldn’t promise the
other candidates any playing time? For the record, newbies Salem and Montalbo
haven’t seen even a second of action (and, again, they already played UP!).
I
guess we’ll find the answers to those as the season continues to unfold, but
suffice to say that things have really become very interesting for both teams.
 |
| Jeron Teng and the Archers won their first game after disposing of the Fighting Maroons. |
Needless to say, the most impressive Archer so far has been newcomer Jason Perkins. The 6’3 combo forward out of Minnesota has shone brightly for the Greenies, averaging 16.5ppg, and 11.0rpg while shooting nearly 60% from the field. He is one of two Archers norming a double-double, the other one being Bear Torres, who is putting up 10 and 15 per game. If those two can remain consistent, then DLSU has more that a fair chance of winning their next few assignments – Ateneo on Sunday and FEU next Saturday.
That’s
not to say other big names on La Salle’s roster haven’t been pulling their
weight. On the contrary, Almond VosoTRES has been spitfire. He is averaging
14.0ppg, 5.5rpg, and 2.0apg while making 3 triples per game. His backcourt
maters, Jeron Teng and Thomas Torres, have been productive, too. Both
sophomores have combined for nearly 26 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3
steals per outing.
The
only downsides so far with the Archers have been field goal accuracy, free
throw accuracy (surprise!), and turnovers. Of their best five, only Perkins
shoots better than 41%from the floor, while, as a team, they’ve connected on
just 63% of their charities. Teng and Thomas Torres also combine for 9
turnovers per game.
Still
a lot of work for the Taft boys, but a golden opportunity beckons as they can
showcase just how far they’ve come against no less than the defending champions
on Sunday. Should they defeat Ateneo, they will not only validate their status
as a contender, but they will also hand the Eagles something they haven’t
experiences since the dark ages of the 90s – three straight defeats.
Moving
eastward to Diliman, despite just being two games into the season, it’s clear
that the Maroons are primed, once again, to bring up the rear. They had some
nice cheer-worthy moments against DLSU, especially threatening for the last
time, 82-77, after a Sam Marata trey, but by and large this was La Salle’s game
to lose. The Maroons were -19 in rebounds, -10 in assists, and -4 in steals. Bad
numbers for sure. And though their sniping was impressive – they hit FOURTEEN
of their 28 three-point attempts – the UP cagers just didn’t show the composure
needed to pull off a monumental upset. Thing won’t get any easier, of course,
as FEU and NU are lined up for coach Rick Dandan’s wards.
 |
| Norbert Torres is stopped cold by the defense of Raul Soyud. |
 |
| Sam Marata has emerged as the top weapon of the Diliman squad. |
DLSU GREEN ARCHERS over UP FIGHTING
MAROONS, 96-84
DLSU 96 - Teng
20, Pekins 20, Vosotros 15, N. Torres 14, T. Torres 14, De La Paz 7, Van Opstal
6, Bolick 0
UP 84 - Marata
21, Lao 18, Asilum 12, Suarez 9, Ball 6, Soyud 5, Pascual 3, Ligad 3, Gallarza
3, Desiderio 2, Wong 0, Amar 0
QS: 24-19, 48-44, 75-67, 96-84
0 Comment