Gilas Pilipinas pool member Mason Amos scattered 20 points and helped power La Salle to an easy 83-70 win over University of the Philippines and into the PGFlex Linoleum Invitational Tournament championship on Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Paco Arena in Manila.
In a fitting sequel to his 19-point effort in the team’s 90-63 demolition of the Olivarez College Sea Lions in the semis last Tuesday, the 6-foot-7 Amos buried four triples – most of them in the early part of the game that saw the Archers produce offensive spurts.
He also had 11 boards to complete another double-double performance apart from tallying 3 assists to win the coveted Finals MVP plum.
La Salle’s feat in the pre-season tournament could serve as an added motivation to its Team A which starts its title series against UP Team A in the UAAP starting Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Araneta Coliseum.
With Amos joining hands with Santi Romero, Bright Nwankwo and Russel Ogana, the Archers surged to a 14-3 advantage, a lead they padded to as many as 17 points in the second quarter.
The absence of UP’s top gunner Rey Remogat made the job a lot easier for the Archers who drew 18 and 17 points from Nwankwo and Ogano.
Jacob Cortez tallied only 6 points for La Salle in almost 33 minutes of action but he masterfully quarterbacked the team’s offense that saw them scored 44 points from the paint and another 15 on fastbreak plays.
Meantime, reigning UCAL champion Centro Escolar University salvaged third by downing Olivarez College, 80-66.
