Much like their first round encounter, the defending champion DLSU Green Archers had to work their tails off against the FEU Tamaraws to sweep their season series.
Despite misfiring from deep and turning the ball 15 times, Mike Phillips and DLSU Green Archers were able to put away a stubborn FEU Tamaraws side, 58-53, in their second round encounter in UAAP Season 87 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, November 6.
Phillips revved up with a solid double-double of 17 points, including 11 in the final frame, and 15 rebounds alongside five steals and two blocks on the game DLSU missed 26 of their 28 attempts from downtown.
Trailing 42-47 midway through the 4th quarter, Philips gave the Green Archers the lead, 48-47, with a putback only for Janrey Pasaol to counter with a nifty reverse lay-up.
Motor Mike once again crashed the boards and hammered down a strong slam before Raven Gonzales’s floater helped DLSU build a 52-51 cushion, 1:16 ticks left.
He then scored on a jump hook and a tough lay-up for 56-51 DLSU lead en route to hack out a hard-earned win and swept their season series against FEU.
DLSU, who are the first team to secure a Final Four spot, now improved to 11-1 and further solidified their footing on the no.1 seed heading into the playoffs. The Green Archers will continue their elimination round campaign against the UP Fighting Maroons.
Earlier, the Green Archers, who have not played in 10 days, stumbled into a rough start and found themselves facing an early 12-point deficit at 24-12 in the second frame.
They were able to turn the tides and took a 28-26 halftime lead that grew to a much as 10 points, 36-26, with 7:02 ticks remaining in the third frame.
Not to be outdone, the Tamaraws countered with a strong 15-4 response led by Royce Alforque’s outburst late in the third for a slim 41-40 cushion entering the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Mo Konateh produced a monster 14-point, 27-rebound game with rookie Veejay Pre chipping 12 in a loss.
FEU rode a strong 16-4 run, bridging from the tail end of the first quarter and the early moments of the second quarter for a 24-12 lead with 8:11 seconds left.
They even had the lead at 47-42 with seven minutes to play before collapsing in the end.
The loss put a dent to FEU's slim Final Four hopes as they now stumbled to 4-8 with two games left in their campaign.