LA Salle center Mike Phillips asked for the leather from teammate Joshua David, roamed around the paint, and rose for a one-handed hook shot that he canned, beating the shot clock off Far Eastern University counterpart Mohamed Konateh last night.
With the hardworking Phillips showing the way, the Green Archers dodged the upset axe wielded by the gritty Tamaraws, scoring a 58-53 decision to boost their bid for the top seed in the Final Four of the 87th UAAP basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Phillips’ backbreaking basket pushed La Salle’s lead to 54-51 with only 52.6 seconds left and the Topex Robinson-mentored squad held its ground the rest of the way.
“We just have to give it to FEU. Sean (Chambers, Tams tactician) is really doing a great job there, doing what he has with a young team. We just tried to grind it out with them. We know it’s going to be a fast-paced game, so we just tried to keep it simple on our end,” Robinson said. “We tried to make it a boring game by not outrunning them because it’s going to be a disaster for us if we did.
“We just stepped up in those last few minutes of the fourth quarter. We did what we’re supposed to do and that’s to limit their scorers,” he added.
Phillips ably stepped up for reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao who was held to just eight points on 2-of-17 shooting overall with 17 markers, 15 rebounds, and two assists.
JC Macalalag and Andrei Dungo also combined for 15 as La Salle rolled to its eighth straight win, counting an 80-65 mauling of Ateneo last Oct. 26, and rose to 11-1, gaining momentum heading to its second-round rematch with University of the Philippines for the No. 1 spot in the semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
FEU failed to score a big follow-up to a 59-51 triumph over University of the East last Sunday and dropped to 4-8.
The Archers took a 28-26 cushion at the half but trailed 40-41 going into the final stanza.
Mo Konateh carried the fight for the Tams with 14 points, 27 boards, and two blocks, while VJ Pre was limited to 12 points on 15 shots.
Main man Jorick Bautista was held scoreless on a woeful 0-of-9 shooting from the field in 25 minutes of play while also getting zeroes in all the other statistical departments, except for two turnovers and three fouls.
