The De La Salle Green Archers suffered a rare debacle, succumbing to Ateneo de Manila University, 65-81, on August 16 for the Archers’ third straight loss in UAAP men’s basketball at the Araneta Coliseum.
Besides going 0-3 dating back to last Sunday, this is also the first three-game losing streak of the green and white squad in the Franz Pumaren era. Add to that the fact that the Green Archers are 0-6 against its nemesis the past two UAAP seasons.
Unlike the first encounter, the Eagles started strong, erecting a double-digit lead going into the half. By the time 20 game minutes elapsed, they were ahead, 44-27.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini asserted his might, scoring 14 of his game-high 26 points during that time. The lead became 21, 59-38, from an Al-Hussaini fastbreak finish started by an Eric Salamat steal, 5:16 in the third quarter.
The farthest it got was 23, 73-50, from a Al-Hussaini bucket. The reigning MVP shot 12/20 from the field and also had three rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
He was helped out by partner Eric Salamat, who had 11 markers on 4/8 field goal shooting and eight assists. Nico Salva had ten.
Three DLSU cagers scored in double figures, led by Peejay Barua’s 16 points. He was followed by Joshua Webb with 13 markers, while Maui Villanueva came up with ten.