EVEN with Kevin Quiambao heavily struggling, De La Salle University still found a way to defeat Far Eastern University through the fourth quarter domination of Mike Phillips, 58-53, in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Wednesday.
The reigning Most Valuable Player shot a miserable 2-of-17 from the field for just eight points while also securing 13 rebounds but the energetic Phillips more than made up for it with a complete line of 17 points, 15 rebounds, five steals, two blocks, and two assists.
Phillips scored 11 in the final period, including the game’s biggest basket, a shotclock-beating floater in the final 52.6 seconds that gave the Green Archers a 54-51 lead that broke the backs of the Tamaraws.
He then soared for an and-one layup but he missed the bonus to make it 56-51 with 24.1 seconds left.
“We just tried to grind it out with FEU. We know it’s gonna be a fast-paced game so we just tried to keep it simple. On our end, we tried to make it a boring game by not outrunning them because it’s gonna be a disaster for us if we did and we just stepped up in the last few minutes of the game. We did what we’re supposed to do and that’s to limit their scorers,” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.
Phillips, Joshua David, and Raven Gonzales picked up the slack as the Green Archers proved to be more than a Quiambao team, turning a 47-42 deficit with 6:38 remaining in the game to a 56-51 advantage. David and Gonzales only had a basket each but they came at the right time.
Phillips extended La Salle’s lead with a deuce with 52.6 seconds left before grabbing a huge rebound off Veejay Pre’s miss on the other end.
“This is what the UAAP is all about, going against teams like FEU. The standings does not depict what FEU is. They are young guys but they are really doing so well,” said Phillips, who had 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals in the fourth period alone.
La Salle improved to a league-leading 11-1 record heading into its big time match against University of the Philippines, with a victory securing the top ranking in the Final Four on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
JC Macalalag contributed nine points while Doy Dungo also made eight points and five rebounds in 17 minutes and 45 seconds.
Meanwhile, FEU’s climb to the Final Four took a big hit, dropping to 4-8 at solo sixth, a game and a half behind fourth-running University of Santo Tomas at 5-6.
Mo Konateh led the Tamaraws with 14 points, 27 rebounds, and two blocks, while Pre was limited to 12 points on 15 shots.
Main gunner Jorick Bautista was held scoreless on a woeful 0-of-9 shooting from the field in 25 minutes of play while also getting zeroes in all the other statistical departments except for his two turnovers and three fouls.
FEU’s next game will be on Saturday against Ateneo de Manila University also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
DLSU 58 – M. Phillips 17, Macalalag 9, Dungo 8, Quiambao 8, Marasigan 4, David 3, Gonzales 3, Austria 2, Ramiro 2, Agunanne 2, Gollena 0, Konov 0.
FEU 53 – Konateh 14, Pre 12, Alforque 11, Pasaol 11, Anonuevo 3, Daa 2, Montemayor 0, Bagunu 0, Ona 0, Nakai 0, Bautista 0.
Quarterscores: 10-19, 28-26, 40-41, 58-53.