MANILA – De La Salle University Green Archers weathered a late rally by the University of the East Red Warriors to score 82-72 in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball at the San Juan Arena.
Justine Baltazar and Aljun Melecio led the way with 16 points apiece while rookie Encho Serrano and Jollo Go added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Green Archers (2-1) Sunday night.
Riding on the strong showing of Melecio, Baltazar and Go, the Green Archers surged to a 21-14 lead at the end of the opening period before widening the gap further 39-27 at the half.
La Salle continued their domination in the second half to widen the lead to its largest 57-37 on hits from Mark Dyke and Serrano. The Red Warriors attempted a late run but could only come to as close as 10 points.
“Before the game, I told them that this is a good game for us. Pareho kaming All-Filipino e. I told them that let’s try to learn from this one,” said Green Archers head coach Louie Gonzalez.
“Hindi lang ako naging masaya noong dulo. I really cannot afford meltdowns, especially in the last minute. We need to finish games strong. Wala kaming karapatan mawalan ng bola. That’s not the team that we want,” he added.
Alvin Pasaol led the way with 22 points, with 14 coming in the final quarter, while Jason Varilla and Philip Manalang chipped in 14 and 11 markers, respectively, for the Red Warriors (0-3)./PN
