Defending champion De La Salle University made up for squandering a 20-point lead in regulation with a strong performance in overtime to tame University of Santo Tomas, 94-87, for a five-game winning streak in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Kevin Quiambao shone with a personal-high 29 points on 10-of-17 field goal shooting and had nine rebounds as the Green Archers grabbed the solo lead with an 8-1 win-loss record.
The reigning Most Valuable Player broke the ice in the extra period as La Salle regained its bearing and went on a 13-3 run to bury the Tigers, 93-83, with 1:19 left.
The Green Archers held UST without a field goal in the first four minutes of overtime to set the tone for the escape despite throwing away the ball with an atrocious 26 turnovers.
Mike Phillips had a double-double of 16 points and 13 boards while Raven Gonzales and EJ Gollena added 11 and eight markers, respectively, for La Salle, which led by as many as 20 in the second quarter, 40-20.
“Well, we’re not surprised about how UST played. We always remind ourselves that every team will be out competing against us. Coach Pido Jarencio and the rest of the staff are really doing a tremendous job in making sure they’re a competitive group,” Green Archers coach Topex Robinson.
“We made mistakes and it’s an opportunity for us to learn. 26 TOs is no joke. We’ll work on these in preparation against Adamson.”
UST erased a 61-74 deficit with 6:27 left in regulation with a huge 19-6 rally capped by a split free throw by Forthsky Padrigao with 24.1 seconds left from an unsportsmanlike foul on Phillips to knot the game at 80.
The Tigers had a crack to win it in regulation but Padrigao missed a three-point attempt as time expired.
UST slid to back-to-back losses for a 4-5 slate.
Nic Cabanero led the Tigers with 23 points and 12 rebounds with three assists and three steals while Padrigao got 15 markers.
Center Mo Tounkara, who sparked UST’s fourth canto run with a triple, scored 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out and getting ejected with 3:38 left in regulation for taunting Phillips after a traveling call.
The Malian big man could miss the Tigers’ match against Ateneo de Manila University on Saturday due to a one-game suspension pending UST’s appeal.
The Scores:
La Salle (94) --- Quiambao 29, M. Phillips 16, Gonzales 11, Gollena 8, Agunanne 7, Austria 6, Macalalag 6, Dungo 6, David 3, Marasigan 2, Ramiro 0, Abadam 0, Konov 0, Rubico 0.
UST (87) --- Cabanero 23, Padrigao 15, Tounkara 14, Pangilinan 10, Paranada 8, Manaytay 7, Llemit 3, Estacio 3, Crisostomo 2, Robinson 2, Acido 0, Mahmood 0, Lane 0, Danting 0.
Quarters: 27-14, 42-29, 65-56, 80-80, 94-87.
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