Mike Phillips makes up for Kevin Quiambao’s off night as La Salle gets back at UE, snapping the latter's five-game winning streak in UAAP Season 87.
The DLSU Green Archers survived a rare off night from reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao as they pulled away late against the UE Red Warriors, 77-68, in the second round of UAAP Season 87 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, October 12.
Suffering their only loss of the season so far against the Red Warriors, the Green Archers were hard-pressed to get back at the Recto-based cagers to open round 2.
But it wasn’t a walk in the park against the red-hot UE team as the Red Warriors brought the heat and were ahead until midway through the third quarter, 52-51, after a Jack Cruz-Dumont bucket.
La Salle, though, got its offense going as Quiambao also started to hit shots after a scoreless half. The defending champions ended the third on a 12-2 run, taking a 63-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
While the Red Warriors made it interesting to get within five, 63-68, La Salle was able to fend them off.
The Green Archers’ run was punctuated by a thundering slam by Player of the Game Mike Phillips to push the lead, 73-65, with two minutes and change remaining.
Phillips stepped up big time for La Salle with 27 points and 17 rebounds in the win. He also had five assists, one steal, and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Quiambao reached 10 points with some buckets in the second half to go along with his six rebounds, two assists, and a block.
La Salle thus moves up to solo first at 7-1, while UE saw its win streak snapped at five games for a 5-3 mark.