La Salle escapes against Adamson

By Jonas Terrado - Manila Bulletin - September 1, 2008

La Salle went two-of-two without head coach Franz Pumaren.

But what a experience it was for assistant coach Jack Santiago as the Archers needed an extra five minutes to eke a pulsating 84-79 win over the surprisingly stubborn Adamson squad in the UAAP basketball tournament yesterday at the Philsports.

Last Thursday, the Archers leaned on a late-game heroic of Maui Villanueva to produce a harrowing 81-79 win over University of Santo Tomas.

Those wins were scary but Santiago said they were fulfilling.

"It’s a good experience for me pero sabi ko sa kanina na sana wag nila akong pakabahin dahil mahirap din sa akin," said Santiago, who was visibly nervous during the last two minutes of the regulation.
"I accomplished my mission for coach Franz," said Santiago, still feeling jittery.

Pumaren is out of town calling the shots for RP Youth team in the Asian Youth Championship in Tehran, Iran. He will be back in time for another tense duel with Ateneo on Sunday.

Santiago, who played for six seasons in the PBA before he joined the staff of Pumaren, had to thank LA Revilla this time for bailing them out of trouble.

The rookie guard converted a go-ahead triple with 1:46 to go in the extra session as the Green Archers shattered a 76-76 deadlock. JV Casio and James Mangahas also contributed to dispatch the upset-minded Falcons.

With the win, their 10th in 13 starts, the Archers enhanced their bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final. They are currently tied with idle Far Eastern University, thus making their encounter with Ateneo on Sunday a must-win.

In the second game, University of the East completed the semis cast by ousting 2006 champion University of Santo Tomas, 89-87.

For a while, the Red Warriors appeared headed for a breezy win when they took a 74-50 lead late in the third quarter but the Tigers came through with several spurts that saw them move dangerously within 87-88 with 37 ticks left.

Despite missing 7-of-9 free throws, the Warriuors still survived the Tigers’ onslaught who played minus coach Pido Jarencio in the fourth after being ejected for continues complaining.

The Warriors, who will meet FEU on Saturday, will face the Eagles in the semis.

"Sabi ko nga sa mga boys, a win is a win kahit na gaano kasama ang pagkapanalo namin panalo pa rin," Santiago said.

Casio led La Salle with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists despite shooting 6-of-16 from the field while Rico Maierhofer tallied his fifth double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Mangahas recorded 15 points, including four straight in overtime as La Salle built a 76-73 lead only for Paul Gonzalgo to answer back with a triple at the 2:07 mark.

Gonzalgo scored 23 points on 4-of-10 treys while Marc Agustin made 14 points and five rebounds. It was ninth consecutive defeat for the Falcons to fall to 2-11.

In a game that saw nine deadlocks and eight lead changes, the Falcons took the lead with 1:00 left in regulation on two foul shots by Agustin, 70-68. But Casio scored off several Adamson defenders to tie the contest anew with 43.1 ticks to go.

The Archers had a chance to win the game with 5.7 seconds in the fourth but Revilla failed to convert on a driving lay up.