LA Salle Zobel heeded coach Boris Aldeguer’s challenge to take care of foes that they have a chance to beat.
With Rhyle Melencio showing the way, the Junior Archers whipped the University of the Philippines Junior Fighting Maroons yesterday 81-67 for their third straight win in the 85th UAAP juniors’ tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
Melencio wound up with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Kieffer Alas and Justin San Agustin each scored 15 points, while Junjun Melecio and Charles Dimaano also had 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Junior Archers.
“Like what I said before, if you want to get to the Final Four, ito ang mga teams na kailangan naming talunin kasi our next game will be FEU,” Aldeguer said.
“Had we lost this game, it would be a harder drive for us to get to the Final Four. This was an important win. A good win for us coming to our next game,” he added.
Kristian Porter notched 18 points and 17 rebounds, while LeBron Nieto chipped in 17 points, seven boards, six assists, and four steals as Ateneo High School avenged its first-round loss to University of the East with an 88-77 victory.
The Blue Eagles, who dropped a 79-84 decision to the Junior Warriors in the first round last Jan. 29, rose to 3-5, just a game behind the Junior Archers.
“Good thing, the boys responded. We were able to get some stops and convert it,” Ateneo tactician Reggie Varilla said.
“We went back to our roots so we could focus on what we needed to do. We played our hardest” added Porter, who also had three assists and two blocks.
Jonas Napalang had 22 points, eight boards, and six assists while Kobe Demisana chipped in 17 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and four assists for UPIS, which remained tied with UE at 1-7.
Andrei de Leon paced the Junior Warriors with 23 points, seven assists, and three steals while Vhon Roldan contributed 20 points and nine boards.
