MANILA – Kevin Quiambao had a near triple-double output as De La Salle University Green Archers edged Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 74-61, in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The reigning UAAP MVP finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists to go with two steals in 33 minutes of action as the Green Archers surged to solo first place with a 3-0 win-loss slate.
Michael Phillips also had a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Jan Macalalag and Joshua David had nine and eight points, respectively, for the defending champions.
Holding to a slim 44-40 lead at the half, the Green Archers tightened their defense on the Blue Eagles in the third quarter, limiting them to just four points, to establish a 59-44 advantage.
The Green Archers went on to stretch the lead to as high as 20 points at 66-46 early in the fourth quarter before the Blue Eagles came up with consecutive points in the endgame to cut the final margin.
“We just stayed disciplined in what we do. We made a lot of mistakes along the line, we had 22 turnovers and that’s something we have to work on,” said DLSU head coach Michael “Topex” Robinson.
“Ateneo threw a lot of freak defense on us and good thing, we’re able to get our bearings back to get the win,” he added. “(Ateneo) will always be a competitive team no matter what they have right now.”
Shawn Tuano tallied a career-high of 18 points to go with six rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Andrew Bongo added nine markers as the Blue Eagles remained winless in three matches.
Meanwhile, PJ Palacielo converted go-ahead points as National University Bulldogs (1-1) completed a come-from-behind 62-60 victory over Far Eastern University Tamaraws (0-2).
Down by as many as 17 points in the third period, the Bulldogs slowly clawed they way back until they took a 59-57 lead on a Donn Lim triple, but the Tamaraws responded with three free throws from Veejay Pre to take a 60-59 advantage.
The Bulldogs reclaimed the advantage at 61-60 on an inside basket by Palacielo at the 3:03 mark of the fourth quarter. After scoreless three minutes, Palacielo increased the lead to 62-60 with six seconds left on a split free throw./PN
BOX SCORE:
DLSU 74 – Quiambao 13, Phillips 13, Macalalag 9, David 8, Gonzales 7, Gollena 6, Dungo 6, Abadam 6, Ramiro 2, Agunanne 2, Marasigan 2, Konov 0, Rubico 0.
ATENEO 61 – Tuano 18, Bongo 9, Bahay 8, Porter 8, Espina 6, Lazaro 6, Balogun 3, Quitevis 2, Espinosa 1, Gamber 0, Ong 0.
Quarterscores: 21-18, 44-40, 59-44, 74-61.
