The Green Archers still have one foot hanging out of that Final Four door.
Unable to sustain their production on both ends of the floor in the final period, La Salle once again fell short to defending champion Ateneo 62-71 Sunday. The team drops to 8-5 but still remains at third in the standings.
With Ateneo’s bigmen in early foul trouble, the Green Archers went to work inside as they lead by as much as eight points at the halfway mark of the second period. But lapses on defense, along with missed free throws allowed the Blue Eagles to tie the count at 35 come halftime.
Aljun Melecio (13 PTS) and Justine Baltazar (12 PTS) step up for DLSU in their close loss to Ateneo. #UAAPSeason81 pic.twitter.com/lpz4KZnSio
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) November 11, 2018
In the third, La Salle managed to take an early lead but could not build any momentum to pull away. Turnovers and struggles from the foul line continued for them as Ateneo seized the upperhand and lead by 4 entering the last quarter.
They were outhustled in fourth as the Blue Eagles went on scoring run with under 6 minutes left in the game to lead by 13. The Green Archers were unable to make the shots and right stops down the stretch which eventually prevented any attempts of a comeback.
Aljun Melecio topscored with 13 points followed by Justine Baltazar with 12. Taane Samuel returned to action since sustaining a foot injury in their opening game to score 8 points in 17 minutes of playing time.
The team were just 9 of 19 from the foul line and were outrebounded 35-54.
La Salle shall face UP (7-6) on Wednesday in their final game of the elimination round. A win will give them the third seed in the final four and avoid any possible playoff scenarios should they lose.
Box Scores:
DLSU 62 – Melecio 13, Baltazar 12, Santillan 10, Caracut 8, Samuel 8, Manuel 5, Montalbo 2, Bates 2, Serrano 2, Go 0
ADMU 71 – Ravena 14, Kouame 11, Verano 9, Navarro 7, Nieto Mi 7, Nieto Ma 6, Tio 5, Mamuyac 5, Asistio 3, Go 3, Daves 1, Mendoza 0, Wong 0
Quarterscores: 18-22, 35-35, 54-50, 71-62
Final Score: DLSU 62-71 ADMU#UAAPSeason81 #Stats pic.twitter.com/WxTJztiW3i
— Pong Ducanes (@ompongski) November 11, 2018