DE LA SALLE sent a strong message to its former coach and now University of Santo Tomas (UST) tactician Aldin Ayo as the Green Archer made an easy target of the Growling Tigers, 99-72, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Thanks to Justine Baltazar and Aljun Melecio, De La Salle devoured the hapless Tigers right from the get-go to improve to a 3-2 won-lost record.
“That’s the primary game plan for today, for us to play 40 minutes at a high level,” Green Archers Coach Louie Gonzales said.
Gonzales also believed that the blowout win served them well in preparation for a heavyweight clash with archrival Ateneo on Saturday.
“This victory is important because we will be facing Ateneo. There will always be pressure but a win will put us on a better standing,” he added.
Baltazar scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots to anchor his team on both ends. Despite misfiring from the three-point line, Melecio still tallied 19 points that went with eight boards.
De La Salle got off to a fiery start as Baltazar and Melecio conspired for 18 of their team’s 28 points in the first quarter.
The squad led by as many as 25 in the first half and the gap ballooned to 88-59 on a 15-3 rally that put the game out of reach with less than four minutes to play
Henri Subido topscored for UST with 16 points, while Marvin Lee and Zachary Huang added 13 points apiece.
Ayo’s team may have dropped to its fourth loss in five games, but still praised his young guns and his decision to leave Taft.
“I’m contented that I’m on the other side because I know the feeling of coaching them [Green Archers],” Ayo said. “So even though this was the outcome, I’m very happy that I’m here at UST.”
Wendell Comboy, meanwhile, scattered 10 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to tow Far Eastern University (FEU) to a 73-68 victory over National University (NU).
The Tamaraws now share the third spot with the Green Archers, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-4.
Comboy buried five straight points to hike their lead to 61-53 with six minutes left in the game. But the Bulldogs countered with five points of their own to pull to within three with four minutes remaining.
NU’s Dave Ildefonso and John Lloyd Clemente tried to keep the game close, but Comboy was just too much to handle and sank a jumper with 1:43 remaining to seal the win for FEU.
Kenneth Tuffin, Arvin Tolentino and Louell Gonzales contributed nine points each for the Tamaraws.
Image credits: Roy Domingo