By NIKOLE JAVIER
La Salle outgunned long-time rival Ateneo down the stretch and came out a proud 83-78 winner in their much-awaited showdown in the UAAP Season 85 Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Before a roaring 12,000 collegiate fans, the Archers went to Schonny Winston who gamely responded with big buckets to help the Taft-based school end a seven-game losing run to the Eagles since 2017.
Winston was on fire the entire game, finishing with 25 points on top of five rebounds and six assists as the Archers overhauled the 10-point deficit in the first quarter.
The win did not surprise La Salle veteran coach Derrick Pumaren, saying: “I think the boys really worked hard. They believed that they can beat Ateneo, it really worked. And [also] prepared for Ateneo. Even though we were down, we were able to regroup no’ng second quarter.”
After a hard and intense chase, the Archers finally got the lead, 79-73, via a telling 12-3 run that was capped by a jumper from Winston.
But the Eagles refused to fade away easily with Forthsky Padrigao burying a triple.
Winston, however, responded quickly with a jumper with 1:19 to go.
Kai Ballungay kept Ateneo’s hopes alive with a jumper, 81-78, before fouling Evan Nelle who eventually sealed deal from the line.
Ange Koaume paced Ateneo with 22 points and 12 boards. Ballungay added 19 points off 2-of-3 from beyond the arc apart from grabbing 10 rebounds.
The scores:
DLSU 83 ‒ Winston 25, Nelle 10, Cortez 8, Quiambao 7, Abadam 7, M. Phillips 6, Austria 6, B. Phillips 6, Estacio 5, Nwankwo 3, Nonoy 0, Manuel 0.
Ateneo 78 ‒ Kouame 22, Ballungay 19, Andrade 8, Ildefonso 7, Padrigao 7, Gomez 5, Lazaro 4, Garcia 3, Chiu 2, Koon 1, Daves 0, Quitevis 0.
Quarters: 18-28, 46-47, 64-62, 83-78
