At 8-1, the De La Salle Green Archers still continue to look for holes in their game that they need to plug up in UAAP Season 87.
The DLSU Green Archers vowed to learn from their mistakes during the end-game as they survived the UST Growling Tigers in overtime, 94-87, in Round 2 of UAAP Season 87 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday.
Despite leading the game by as much as 20 points in the first half, La Salle found themselves scrambling for a defensive stop late in regulation to force overtime against a very determined UST side.
Though leading wire-to-wire, La Salle saw a 13-point fourth quarter lead dissipate thanks to key baskets from the likes of Forthsky Padrigao, Nic Cabañero, and Kyle Paranada.
A frustration foul from Mike Phillips actually opened the door for Padrigao to take the lead in regulation — as he was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul with the score at 80-79 with 24.1 seconds remaining.
But Padrigao, who had previously been reliable for Pido Jarencio and the Growling Tigers, ended up splitting his free throws to reach the game’s one and only deadlock at 80-all.
Though favored against the España squad, DLSU head coach Topex Robinson said that there wasn’t anything surprising about how UST played.
[RELATED: UAAP: Quiambao drops career-high 29 as La Salle averts late-game meltdown vs UST in OT]
Rather, it’s what they expect from their foes each and every time they face off on the hardcourt.
“Well, we were not surprised on how UST will play. We always remind ourselves that every team will really be all out, you know, competing against us. I mean, Coach Pido and the rest of the staff, they are really doing a tremendous job in making sure that they have a competitive group,” said Robinson after the game.
“You know, we made a lot of mistakes down the line, and again, that's part of our growth.”
Among the aspects for improvement for Robinson was on taking care of the ball. Their miscues down the line in regulation included some crucial turnovers — all in all, they turned the ball over 26 times to the Growling Tigers.
Headed to another competitive match against Final Four contender Adamson on the weekend, Robinson said they’ll have to figure things out quickly.
“I mean, it's just another opportunity for us to learn. 26 turnovers is no joke, so it's something that I'm sure we'll work on in preparation for our game against Adamson on Saturday.” he said.
Still, there were a lot of positives for Robinson’s Green Archers — highlighted by a career-high 29 points from Kevin Quiambao.
But with the rest of the league still eager to get a piece of the defending champions, La Salle will do good to clean up their act.
Currently, La Salle is atop the standings with their 8-1 slate. Meanwhile, UST is under .500 for the first time this season at 3-4.