UE Humbles La Salle!

It had to happen. It was a battle of the undefeated teams; and at the end, one team would remain at the peak of the mountain while the other will be humbled with their first ever defeat this season. Unfortunately for the Lasallian community, it had to be the Green Archers who were on the receiving end of a furious rally by the Red Warriors.
The game was on the route for the expected nail-biting finish for the two projected UAAP Finals contenders, as the score remained close with both teams exchanging blows for the first 25 minutes of the game. JV Casio was on fire early on, draining three 3-pointers along with numerous jump shots and break away lay-ups against a bedazzled UE defense. The Red Warriors on the other hand responded by scoring on almost every possession, despite the physical Green Archer defense. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, the Green Archers seemed to run out of gas, and the Red Warriors inversely pumped up the momentum and continued to pull away until the lead became insurmountable by any desperate attempts by Franz Pumaren’s squad.
Midway through the fourth quarter, JV Casio raised three of his fingers towards Ty Tang, presumably signaling jacking up three-point attempts. Indeed, that was entirely the case. Franz Pumaren seemed to have pushed the panic button and asked the Archers to start launching three-pointers with a little over 5 minutes left in the game. The Green Archers followed, although their hopes and prayers never came to life. Their futile attempt for a hopeful rally never materialized, and the Archers found themselves in a deeper hole; deep enough for the team to finally concede in the wanning minutes of the game.
Jorel Canizares headed the all-out attack for the UE Red Warriors as he led 8 players with 8 or more points with a season-high, 15 points, after averaging only 2 points per game through the season. The star Warrior, Marcy Arellano, did not have to do much in the game as all his teammates picked up the slack to cruise past the Green Archers.
The De La Salle Green Archers were led by JV Casio’s 17 points, with majority of his points coming in his 1st half outburst. A questionable coaching decision is being raised against coach Franz Pumaren for benching JV Casio, given the fact that Casio was red hot from the field. Rico Maierhofer also displayed a valiant effort with 15 points and 11 rebounds, accompanied by beautiful defensive plays against some Red Warriors who were hoping for easy baskets. The Green Archers turned the ball over 22 times, against the Warriors’ 14.
The Green Archers will try to redeem themselves against their classic rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles, on Thursday. Keep an eye out for an angry Green Archer team that is hungry for victory.
Animo La Salle!