Evan Nelle and Justine Baltazar delivered clutch plays down the stretch as De La Salle dealt Adamson another heartbreaker after taking a 61-58 win in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Saturday, April 9.
Nelle, Baltazar, Deschon Winston, and Michael Phillips powered a late spurt for the Green Archers en route to a four-point lead, 59-55, with 16.3 seconds left in the payoff period.
Nelle capped the run by sinking a three-pointer before Adamson’s Keith Zalvidar responded with a corner triple of his own to trail by one point only, 59-58, with 10.4 seconds to go.
Baltazar, who earlier blocked Didat Hanapi’s go-ahead attempt at the 38-second mark, showed poise once again and deflected Zalvidar’s potential game-winning three as time expired.
Joaqui Manuel, who played 20 minutes without turnovers and posted a season-high of 14 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting to go with six rebounds, iced the game with a pair of free throws as De La Salle capped its first round campaign with a 5-2 record.
“I think we lost focus when we got the 10-point lead," said De La Salle coach Derrick Pumaren. “We battled down on defense. We made stops. We got the lead and Evan hit the big three-point shot with the game on the line.”
Nelle caught fire and scored all of his 12 points from beyond the arc, missing only one attempt, Winston chalked up 10 points and four rebounds, Phillips added eight points and seven rebounds, and Kurt Lojera had eight points and five rebounds.
Baltazar, who was clutch on the defensive end, chipped in six points, five rebounds, and four assists for the third-seeded Green Archers.
Jerom Lastimosa paced the Soaring Falcons anew, who slipped to a 1-6 slate, with 15 points and seven assists while Lenda Douanga posted 11 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.