DLSU in the Finals of the FilOil Flying V Invitational Cup
The DLSU Green Archers edged out the NU Bulldogs for a slot in the Finals of the FilOil Flying V Invitational Cup. They will meet the San Beda Red Lions to dispute the title. I have to say that it was a rough and tumble game with no clear winner till the final 2 minutes.
In the final 2 minutes, TY Tang made 2 points while Pocholo Villanueva made the killing blow, a jumper on the corner that ballooned the lead to 8 pts. Compounded by a spate of turnovers from NU, the Archers were soon looking at the Bulldogs from the rear view mirror of the bus headed towards the finals. The final score was 78-86. JV Casio top scored for the Archers with 26pts while making 5 rebs and 7 assists along the way.
La Salle looked like the underdog team as they started slow in the first quarter. They had that fatigued look on their faces as the day before they had bagged the championship of the 2007 Nike Summer League by beating FEU. TY Tang was replaced early by Simon Atkins in the first quarter due to turnovers. Noticeably absent also in the first half was Nike Summer League MVP, Rico Maierhofer.
I don’t know if it was fatigue that was getting to La Salle or their history of listless performance whenever they play NU, because La Salle was buried by as much as 9pts in the 2nd Quarter. NU did this through the 3 point sniping of Salvado and the inside plays of their agile bigmen, LingaoLingao and Aguilar. JV Casio’s back to back 3 pointers and inside drives were what allowed La Salle to finally wrestle the lead from the Bulldogs. At the end of the half it was a 43-40 score to La Salle’s advantage.
The 3rd quarter was a dismal quarter for both teams as they not only traded baskets, but also turnovers. The Archers however were able to finish the game “+” 1 over the Bulldogs by taking a four point lead at the end of the 3rd, 60-64.
JV Casio erupted for 5 3 pointers in the game, most of them in the 4th. Malagueno however traded 3 pointers with Casio which allowed NU to claw back into the game. Add to that the stellar play of Aguilar before he fouled out with still 5 minutes remaining in the 4th Quarter. I don’t know what’s with NU?, but they sure do attract a lot of great post men. Case in point, we have San Miguel Power Forward Danny Ildefonso and the Alfie Grijaldo who plays in the PBL. And now they have Aguilar and LingaoLingao, undersized that they maybe, they are agile Postmen with great noses for getting the rebound.
In the end however, it was NU themselves that killed their chances with the win by committing a lot of unforced errors. These errors were mostly travelling infractions, bad passes and one occurrence of a backcourt violation.
Even though Rico Maierhofer and TY Tang didn’t contribute much to the score, they did contribute a lot to the win. TY did this by hitting key shots in the fourth (a 2ptr and a 3 ball) while Rico contributed his defense and overall scrappiness.
LA SALLE - Casio 26, Villanueva 16, Mangahas 14, Maierhofer 7, Tang 7, Atkins 7, Ilad 3, Walsham 2, Co 2, Lee 2.
NU - Aguilar 24, Salvado 19, Lingao-Lingao 15, Malagueño 9, Ponferada 5, Garcia 4, Janhke 2, Baloran 0, Luy 0.
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