EcoOil-La Salle jumpstarts title defense with romp of CEU
EcoOil-La Salle jump started its title defense with a masterful 84-62 victory over UCBL champion CEU in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Center Arena in Pasig City on Thursday, April 27.
Kevin Quiambao led the charge with 21 points as the Green Archers unleashed a 32-point second quarter explosion to seize a lead that went to as high as 28 points in the third quarter before shrugging off some late resistance from the Scorpions. Francis Escandor added 11 points while Mark Nonoy, who had some slight injury scare in the third frame, finished with 10. La Salle actually had to buck a slow start before Quiambao anchored a 7-0 closeout in the first frame to take a 17-10 lead. The Green Archers then got things going on both ends of the floor as they uncorked a 14-2 opening in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 19, 31-12. The Scorpions were limited to just 12 points in that period as the Archers took a commanding 25-point lead, 49-24, before the break. Even with the huge lead, CEU put up a better fight in the second half behind the efforts of Jerome Santos, Ron Rei Tolentino, and Ayodeji Balogun. The Scorpions managed to cut the lead down to 15, 66-51, early in the final frame but Quiambao answered back with a 7-0 personal run which quickly restored order for La Salle. Santos paced CEU with 15 points while Tolentino chipped in 12. Balogun had 12 points and 12 rebounds which all went down the drain.
*Kevin Quiambao leads the charge for EcoOil-La Salle (PBA Images)
*Kevin Quiambao led the charge with 21 points as the Green Archers unleashed a 32-point second quarter explosion to seize a lead that went to as high as 28 points in the third quarter before shrugging off some late resistance from the Scorpions. Francis Escandor added 11 points while Mark Nonoy, who had some slight injury scare in the third frame, finished with 10. La Salle actually had to buck a slow start before Quiambao anchored a 7-0 closeout in the first frame to take a 17-10 lead. The Green Archers then got things going on both ends of the floor as they uncorked a 14-2 opening in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 19, 31-12. The Scorpions were limited to just 12 points in that period as the Archers took a commanding 25-point lead, 49-24, before the break. Even with the huge lead, CEU put up a better fight in the second half behind the efforts of Jerome Santos, Ron Rei Tolentino, and Ayodeji Balogun. The Scorpions managed to cut the lead down to 15, 66-51, early in the final frame but Quiambao answered back with a 7-0 personal run which quickly restored order for La Salle. Santos paced CEU with 15 points while Tolentino chipped in 12. Balogun had 12 points and 12 rebounds which all went down the drain.