A questionable call in the closing seconds resulted in a bizarre ending that deprived La Salle of completing a grand comeback as home team Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology hands the defending champs its first loss in the BLIA tournament 86-87.
Down 21 in the second period, the Green Archers fought their way back to trim the deficit to just 14 at the half and later on found themselves to within 4 points entering the final quarter.
With Aljun Melecio and Andrei Caracut leading the charge, La Salle managed to the tie the match at 86-all with under two minutes left. The Green Archers then had a chance to finally take the lead but Melecio missed two free throws given to him.
With 6 seconds remaining and both teams in penalty, a rather dubious foul was called on Jollo Go who barely laid a hand on the driving Taiwanese player. With 1.6 left, the Chien Hsin guard made the first foul shot and intentionally missed the next as time expired.
They may have lost the game as a result of that call but Green Archers had all the chances in the game to get the win. A lot of missed opportunities down the stretch but nevertheless, hats off to the team for coming back from 21 down.
La Salle shall battle USA team Azusa Pacific University tomorrow at 3:40pm in their final match in the preliminary phase.