After two games, Aljun Melecio finally found his range.
The third-year guard, who has been experiencing an unsual shooting slump dating back to the preseason, scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc as the Green Archers beat UE 82-72 for their second straight win.
Justine Baltazar followed-up from his breakthrough performance last Wednesday with another double-double of 16 points and 14 boards. Showing signs of nerves in his first two outings, rookie Encho Serrano came into as his own as he finished with 11 points, including 2 threes.
Up 12 at the half and by 20 late in the third, La Salle appeared to be in total command of the match and was expected to make that strong finishing kick to pull away further come the final period.
1️⃣6️⃣ PTS. 5/7 from ️3️⃣. Aljun Melecio was feeling it from downtown! #UAAPSeason81 pic.twitter.com/23HgcTbRvt
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) September 23, 2018
But a late rally by the Red Warriors trimmed the Archers’ lead to just 10 with still a lot of time left. Alvin Pasaol, who was limited to just 5 points in the first three quarters, scored 17 of UE’s 27 total point production in the final frame.
1️⃣6️⃣ PTS
1️⃣4️⃣ REBS
0️⃣3️⃣ BLKSAnother double-double for Justine Baltazar, another W for La Salle. #UAAPSeason81 pic.twitter.com/3gefNFs6kd
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) September 23, 2018
The Green Archers fortunately made the right stops in the end to seal the win.
The team remains tied with Ateneo and FEU for 2nd with 2-1 record. They will next face UP on September 30.
Box Scores:
DLSU 82 – Baltazar 16, Melecio 16, Serrano 11, Go 10, Caracut 9, Santillan 6, Dyke 5, Bates 3, Manuel 2, Montalbo 2, Corteza 2, Capacio 0
UE 72 – Pasaol 22, Varilla 14, Manalang 11, Bartolome 6, Maloles 5, Cullar 4, Gallardo 4, Acuno 2, Strait 2, Lacap 2, Antiporda 0, Beltran 0, Guion 0
Quarterscores: 21-14, 39-27, 59-45, 82-72