Though a lot has changed for La Salle since the last two seasons, they remain to be a thorn in the side of Adamson.
Regaining its groove on offense, the Green Archers edge the Soaring Falcons 79-78 in overtime to put themselves in solo fourth after the first round.
La Salle has now won 7 straight games over Adamson dating back to 2016.
Aljun Melecio pumped in 22 points, including the game-tying basket in regulation. He continued his solid play in the extra period to help the Green Archers regain control of the match with a 9 point lead.
Aljun knows how to put on a Show!
22 pts 4rebs 2 asstsRT @abscbnsports: pic.twitter.com/sirV2eitsW
— GoArchers (@GoArchers) October 13, 2018
With under a minute left and La Salle up 8, the Soaring Falcons staged a late rally to bring them to within a basket.
After Kib Montalbo converted on two free throws to extend the lead to 4, Adamson’s Jerick Ahanmisi drilled a corner three with only .3 sec left in the game. Melecio was later on fouled and deliberately missed his freethrows as time expired.
Unlike their previous outing, La Salle shot better from the field at 45% and had a total of 11 assists. Justine Baltzar and Santi Santillan, combining for 11 points against Ateneo, finished with 19 apiece in this game.
With a 4-3 slate, the Green Archers are just a game behind the top three teams in the standings. They shall face to open their second round campaign this coming Wednesday.
Box Scores:
DLSU (79) – Melecio 22, Santillan 16, Baltazar 16, Caracut 8, Montalbo 8, Serrano 5, Bates 2, Manuel 2, Dyke 0, Go 0.
AdU (78) – Ahanmisi 27, Manganti 23, Sarr 9, Catapusan 5, Camacho 4, Lastimosa 3, Bernardo 2, Colonia 2, Espeleta 2, Magbuhos V. 1, Pingoy 0, Mojica 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 33-32, 49-49, 64-64, 79-78
Final Score: ADU 78-79 DLSU OT#UAAPSeason81 #Stats pic.twitter.com/GRrNT48UiY
— Pong Ducanes (@ompongski) October 13, 2018