La Salle avenged the first round loss to UP.
Kevin Quiambao has proven time and again he is the main man for the La Salle Green Archers in the ongoing UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament.
Quiambao further solidified that position on Sunday when he steered the Green Archers to a thrilling 88-79 win over UP Fighting Maroons at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The MVP frontrunner dropped 10 of his 22 points in the final minutes that allowed La Salle to break away and rise to a 7-3 win-loss record.
But he is keeping his feet on the ground, deflecting credit to coach Topex Robinson’s system.
“Itong mga stats na ito galing lang sa system ni coach. Dinodoble ko lang ‘yung effort ko, trust the system lang, hindi ko pinipilit,” said Quiambao, who also had 12 rebounds and three steals.
Indeed, he also had a lot of help.
Evan Nelle nailed the dagger triple with 22.9 ticks remaining to give the team an 87-79 buffer. Nelle finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Mike Phillips, who sat out the last two games because of an ankle injury, added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Robinson seemed pleased.
“This is a test of how far we've come as a team. We had a chance the last time we played them, but things didn't go our way. We just came here trying to be the better version of ourselves,” said Robinson, whose team bowed to UP in the first round.
The Green Archers look to extend their winning streak to five when they take on the Adamson Falcons on Wednesday. The Fighting Maroons, on the other hand, will try to bounce back against the UE Red Warriors, also in the same play date.
(MDB)