The veteran duo of Evan Nelle and Kevin Quiambao powered De La Salle against Far Eastern University, 87-76, in the first round of UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday, Oct. 1, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

Following their painful exit last season, the Green Archers are off to a 1-0 winning start after nearly squandering a 20-point lead in the second half. 

Quiambao led the assault for La Salle after finishing with a double-double performance of 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Nelle flirted with a triple-double after tallying 15 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. 

Three other Green Archers breached the double-digit mark, with Mike Phillips and CJ Austria adding 13 and 12 points, respectively. Francis Escandor then rounded out the scoring with 11 points of his own. 

Austria fired the three of his 12 in the third period from downtown to give La Salle its biggest lead of 20, 63-43. 

However, Xyrus Torres quickly got back on his feet and poured 10 of his 19 points in the possessions that came after, which cut the Tamaraws’ deficit to 12 going into the closing period. 

As FEU finally made its run count with a 9-1 fightback with two minutes left in the game, La Salle struggled to pull away for good. 

It came down to Phillips’ highlight dunk which stretched the lead back to double-digit, 84-73, with 1:15 to go. 

Any last-minute efforts from the Tamaraws went nowhere as the Green Archers sealed the victory for a promising start under debuting head coach Topex Robinson. 

“It’s really a surreal feeling here in the UAAP, especially coaching for DLSU, so grateful for the opportunity with these fine gentlemen. They’re talented. Just gotta trust that they are not gonna make the right decisions and also the wrong ones but that’s how they learn,” said Robinson. 

Torres paced the Tamaraws with 19 points, while Jorick Baustista and Patrick Sleat had 12 and 11 points, respectively. 

FEU continued its woes into the season as it absorbed a 0-1 start under also new head coach Denok Miranda. 

La Salle is set to face long-time rival defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, which is coming off an opening loss on Wednesday, Oct. 4. 

The scores:

DLSU (87) -- Nelle 15, Quiambao 14, M. Phillips 13, Austria 12, Escandor 11, Nonoy 8, B. Phillips 4, Abadam 2, Manuel 2, Nwankwo 2, Policarpio 2, Macalalag 2, Gollena 0, David 0.

FEU (76) -- Torres 19, Bautista 12, Sleat 11, Gonzales 9, Añonuevo 8, Alforque 4, Ona 4, Bagunu 3, Faty 2, Tempra 2, Competente 2.

Quarterscores: 24-19, 48-39, 67-55, 87-76