Teng impresses as La Salle scores bounce back win over Adamson

Still stewing from their last loss against the league-leading Tamaraws, the De La Salle University bounced back with a 66-57 victory over the still winless Adamson Falcons, Sunday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Green Archers used a big 16-0 run in the first quarter to establish distance between them and the Falcons. La Salle had to endure anxious moments as the Falcons showed some grit led by Don Trollano but the Archers never relinquished the lead.

Jason Perkins led La Salle in scoring with 16 points as he heated up late against the small Adamson frontline but it was Jeron Teng’s game long brilliance that kept La Salle afloat. The King Archer had 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

The Archers tied the Ateneo Blue Eagles at second place in the UAAP standings with an 8-3 win loss record. Adamson stays in the cellar at 0-11.

Trollano had a career game against La Salle as he scored 26 points and added 11 rebounds and three assists but he didn’t get much help from the rest of his team.

Adamson started the game by making two of their first five attempts from the field for a 5-3 lead. La Salle then broke the game wide open by going on an astounding 16-0 run to lead 19-5.

The Green Archers took a 23-8 lead after the first quarter as Adamson went 1 of 17 from the field after the game’s opening minutes. Their only basket was an unlikely triple from center Matthew Aquino.

La Salle raised their lead to 18 but the Falcons fought back to bring it down to six points at 30-24 with 1:56 left in the second after a basket from Dawn Ochea.

After a free throw from Jason Perkins, Adamson inched closer with a triple from Trollano. Almond Vosotros ended the first half with two free throws for a 33-27 count in La Salle’s favor.

Trollano had 14 points in the first half while the rest of his team only managed 13 points.

Adamson kept in step with La Salle for much of the third quarter. However, the Falcons loosened their grip momentarily and the Green Archer made them pay, building a double-digit lead, 55-43, heading into the final quarter.

The Falcons continued to fight back in the fourth as they got within eight points of La Salle, 59-51, after a Trollano layup. Adamson stuck around but they just could not put together a definitive run to storm back into the game.

The Main Man: Teng may not have scored a lot of points but he added seven rebounds and six assists to his 15 points.

Honorable Mention: Perkins was a big factor late in the fourth quarter as he scored on a crucial jumper and a couple of free throws. He didn’t start the game well but he still finished with 16 markers.

Game Turning Point: With the La Salle lead down to eight late with two minutes left in the game, Jason Perkins made two free throws quickly followed by a short jumper from Almond Vosotors to extend their lead to 12 and put the game away.

He Said It:

DLSU head coach Juno Sauler:  We have to keep working on making threes. We were 1 of 17 from the three point range. We saw how it worked with Gilas last night. We have to play more consistent, especially on the mental aspect.

The scores:

DLSU 66: Perkins 16, Teng 15, Vosotros 12, Van Opstal 7, Torres 6, Montalbo 4, Sargent 3, Bolick 3, Rivero 0.

ADU 57: Trollano 26, Rios 11, Ochea 6, Nalos 5, Monteclaro 4, Aquino 3, Barrera 2, Villanueva 0, Baytan 0, Polican 0, Inigo 0, Garcia 0.

Quarters: 19-5, 33-27, 55-43, 66-57.