La Salle earns twice-to-beat in UAAP semis with win over FEU

MANILA, Philippines – La Salle coach Franz Pumaren can relax for a while after achieving half of the Archers’ goal this season. The Archers overcame a slow start and a late charge by Far Eastern University to escape with a 62-59 win against the Tamaraws in their playoff game Thursday at the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum. The win gave the defending champion Archers the No.2 seed and the precious twice-to-beat advantage heading into their semifinal encounter with the same team on Sunday. La Salle battles FEU at 2 p.m., with the Archers hoping to close-out their semis series against the Tamaraws and earn another spot in the finals, its 12th since the final-four format was used by the league in 1994. The Ateneo Blue Eagles, who also hold a twice-to-beat bonus after finishing the season with a league-best 13-1 record, clashes with the University of the East Red Warriors at 4 p.m. in the other final-four match. Shooting just 38.1 percent on the field, La Salle came out smoking in the third period, backed by its vaunted full-court trapping defense to slowly distance itself from a tight first half battle against FEU. “Even though we shot terrible in the first half we were only down by two points," Pumaren said after the game. "The boys maybe are a bit tired in the first few minutes and wanted to grab an early lead that’s why medyo me kaunting gigil ang laro." Trailing by two at the half, 25-23, the Archers held the Tams to three free throws in a four-minute stretch while scoring 14 points to enjoy a 37-28 advantage midway in the third period. Bader Malabes starred for La Salle in that scoring run with seven points capping that La Salle breakaway with a layup after receiving a bullet-pass from JV Casio, who stole the ball from FEU guard Jens Knuttel. La Salle closed out the third period with a 47-39 lead and momentum on their side heading into the final 10 minutes of the match where both teams made brief scoring runs but the Archers showed end-game poise to complete the win. Two free throws by Casio ignited another 9-2 exchange as the Archers built a 15-point spread, 56-41, with three minutes gone in the game clock. But the Tams won’t go down that easily as veterans Benedict Fernandez, Reil Cervantes and Aldrech Ramos anchored a 16-4 FEU comeback. Ramos’s three-point play, off a foul from James Mangahas, put FEU within three at 60-57 1:41 to go before the final buzzer. Casio and La Salle’s defense bailed them out of trouble. The 5-foot-10 Casio made a crucial basket with 1:16 left in the game and the Archers’ clamped down on the Tams’ outside shooters to secure the win. FEU was still very much in the game on a JR Cawaling jumper for a 62-59 count but that turned out to be the final tally as they missed on their next two attempts as the buzzer sounded. Casio bounced back after a sub-par performance in a loss to Ateneo last week scoring 16 points behind a seven-of-12 shooting from the two-point area. He went 0-for-6 beyond the arc and also grabbed four rebounds, issued four assists and had two steals. “This is one of those games that show how good a player JV is. This is a good sign of a good player where you can bounce back after a horrible game. We completely trust JV," said Pumaren of his prized guard. Lanky center Rico Maierhoffer finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots, while PJ Barua added 10 more for the Archers. Cervantes paced FEU’s losing cause with 14 markers and 11 rebounds while Fernandez contributed 13 points and seven boards. Marnel Baracael tallied 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with still 2:37 left in the game. – GMANews.TV