By Abac Cordero - Philippine Star - July 18, 2008
La Salle faced a very tall order against Santo Tomas yesterday but managed to get away with an 85-84 win that pushed its title-retention drive back in the groove at the Philsports Arena.
The battle between the two champions was tight all throughout and the Green Archers had to lean on the breaks of the game to pull off their second win in three games in this UAAP season.
“We’re lucky to survive that game,” coach Franz Pumaren admitted during the post-game interview where he talked about Bader Malabes hitting the basket which he felt mattered most.
The game was tied for the sixth and last time at 77 inside the last two minutes when Malabes buried a three-pointer, his fourth in the game, from deep, deep left.
And although the Tigers still managed to grab the lead in the final 59 seconds, it was the shot that proved to be the biggest in the game that featured 13 lead changes.
“I was waiting for him to hit the big shot. We knew he can shoot,” said Pumaren of Malabes who was hospitalized for eight days, because of high fever, just weeks before the season opener.
“I think he lost 15 pounds in the hospital. But now he’s not gaunt-looking anymore as Manny Pacquiao before a fight.”
“Probably I’m really lucky or it’s just that I have so much trust in my boys,” added Pumaren, who didn’t call a timeout after Dylan Ababou made it 81-80 in favor of the Tigers.
In the ensuing play, James Mangahas capped his game-long brilliance with a short stab, time down to 47.7 ticks. After two misses and two offensive rebounds, Santo Tomas called a timeout with 26.9 ticks left.
But Jeric Fortuna had other things in mind when he took a three-pointer the moment he received the inbound pass, and La Salle went on to secure the win with three charities.
Santo Tomas coach Pido Jarencio was baffled why Fortuna, who was playing a very good game, took the harried shot. Not even their big men, JV Cruz, Mark Canlas or Ababou could salvage the rebound.
“That was not the play. We had a different play. And we had a fresh shot clock,” said Jarencio on his way to the dugout after blowing away a chance to beat the reigning champions.
In the other game, Far Eastern U took a walk in the park, beating host University of the Philippines, 88-66, for a 2-1 record, in a tie with La Salle and UE.
Comment: Archers played smart majority of the game. Great game from Mangahas and Malabes. Great game also from Canlas and Ababou. As for Fortuna, he should learn from this experience. =)
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