Still red-hot.
Mike Phillips took over in the fourth quarter, knocking down crucial baskets in defending champion De La Salle University’s 58-53 escape over feisty Far Eastern University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Final Four-bound and twice-to-beat armed Green Archers extended their sizzling winning run to eight straight for a league-leading 11-1 win-loss record despite a rusty start following an 11-day break that saw them trail by 12 in the second canto.
“Well, we just have to give it to FEU. (Coach) Sean (Chambers) is really doing a great job there, doing what he has with a young team. We just tried to grind it out with them. We know it’s going to be a fast-paced game. So we just tried to keep it simple on our end,” La Salle coach Topex Robinson said.
Phillips came to the rescue of La Salle on a rare bad shooting day for reigning Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao, who shot an awful 2-of-17 from the field for a measly eight points.
The athletic forward nailed 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter including six of the Green Archers’ decisive 8-0 run to give the Green Archers a 56-51 clearance with 24.1 remaining.
Phillips also grabbed 15 rebounds, eight in the final canto, had five steals, two blocks and two assists in an all-around output for La Salle, which moved closer to securing the No.1 seed in the semifinals.
FEU dissolved La Salle’s 36-26 lead in the third quarter and turned the fourth period into a tight tug-of-war until the last minute.
The Tamaraws got on top, 51-48, after Royce Alforque swished in his pair of charities before Phillips sparked a pivotal blitz.
Raven Gonzales scored on a strong drive before Phillips added a layup and an incomplete three-point play to make it a two-possession ballgame, 56-51.
FEU cut it down to three after Mo Konateh’s pair of foul shots but David Dungo converted a breakaway layup off a long inbound pass to bring the margin back to five with 20.6 ticks left.
“We try to make it a boring game by not outrunning them because it’s going to be a disaster for us if we did. We just stepped up in those last few minutes of the fourth quarter. We did what we’re supposed to do and that’s to limit their scorers,” Robinson said.
JC Macalalag had nine points, Dungo added eight while Quiambao pulled down 13 rebounds for La Salle, which controlled the boards, 57-45, despite Konateh’s season-high 27 rebounds.
The Tamaraws pounced on the Green Archers’ sluggish start for a 24-12 lead in the second period.
La Salle answered with a 24-2 blitz for a 10-point lead after a Dungo basket with 2:59 left in the third canto.
Konateh finished with 14 points, Veejay Pre got 12 points while Alforque and Janrey Pasaol added 11 each for FEU, which remained at sixth spot with a 4-8 slate.
The scores:
La Salle (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.
Quarters: 10-19, 28-26, 40-41, 58-53.