De La Salle University’s EJ Gollena in action against University of Santo Tomas in UAAP Season 88. Photo from UAAP Media.
MANILA (UPDATED) — De La Salle University overcame a second-half surge from University of Santo Tomas behind JC Macalalag and EJ Gollena's heroics for an 86-77 win in UAAP Season 88 men's basketball on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Macalalag posted 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists to lead La Salle in scoring, while Gollena drained two vital three-pointers to complete his eight markers and four boards as the Green Archers improved to 5-3.
"We know how strong UST is, so we just made sure that we're going to be confident," said La Salle coach Topex Robinson, who also saw Jacob Cortez (12 points, four rebounds), and Mike Phillips (six points, 13 rebounds, six assists) step up to notch their third straight win.
But it was the duo of Macalalag and Gollena who did wonders, as the former caught fire early to help the Green Archers build a 22-point advantage early in the contest.
The latter then took charge in the endgame as the Growling Tigers brought the lead down to six, 76-70, with Gollena draining a pair of three-point daggers to push the Green Archers' lead back to nine, 82-73 before Earl Abadam and Macalalag sealed the victory with their own baskets later on.
On the other hand, the Growling Tigers were paced by Collins Akowe's 20-point, 14-rebound outing, but they are now tied with La Salle and University of the Philippines in the team standings with five wins in eight games.
Gelo Crisostomo also stepped up with 15 points, while Mark Llemit and Nic Cabañero scored 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
The Scores:
La Salle 86 – Macalalag 18, Cortez 12, Marasigan 10, Abadam 10, Daep 8, Gollena 8, Phillips 6, Dungo 5, Quines 5, Pablo 4, Nwankwo 0.
UST 77 – Akowe 20, Crisostomo 15, Llemit 13, Cabañero 12, Danting 5, Acido 4, Padrigao 3, Paranada 3, Calum 2, Buenaflor 0, Estacio 0.
Quarterscores: 24-17, 52-36, 64-51, 86-77