Mike Phillips delivered when it mattered the most as De La Salle survived Far Eastern University, 58-53, to stretch its winning streak to eight in UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Mall of Asia Arena.

Trailing 51-48, the Green Archers launched a fourth-quarter assault led by Phillips to grab the crucial 56-51 lead needed to overcome the gritty Tamaraws.

The win improved La Salle’s win-loss record to 11-1 that further cemented its bid to claim the No. 1 seeding after the eliminations, sweeping FEU this season after also triumphing in their first meeting, 68-62, last Sept. 25.

FEU, for its part, fell to 4-8 at sixth.

Phillips channeled his inner beast by putting up an emphatic double-double performance of 17 points and 15 rebounds, apart from dishing out two assists and five steals. The 6-foot-8 forward also had two blocked shots.

“For me I wasn’t looking na kailangan kong bumawi, kasi last game I was having fun doing my role,” said Phillips.

“It’s just contagious. I’m just happy with my role for the team,” he added.

JC Macalalag and David Dungo, who had a crucial steal in the waning seconds, added nine and eight points, respectively, as the duo stepped up for star player Kevin Quiambao, who struggled with a quiet eight points off a 2-of-17 clip from the field.

Mohamed Konateh lorded it over in the defensive department by collaring 27 rebounds on top of 14 points, but his efforts were not enough to lift FEU to the winning column. Veejay Pre and Royce Alforque also scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, in a losing cause.

The Tamaraws started hot by seizing an 19-10 lead by the Green Archers gained their grounds and grabbed a slim 28-26 edge at the break.

Meanwhile, National University pulled off another splendid showing and exacted its revenge over University of Santo Tomas, 67-62, for its first back-to-back win this season.

Coming from their 67-47 stunner versus the UP Fighting Maroons (9-2), Jolo Manansala and Jake Figueroa anchored the Bulldogs in the final quarter where they unleashed their potent form, firing a 17-3 blast to capture a 64-58 and never looked back en route to victory.

Manansala starred with 17 points while PJ Palacielo (15) and Figueroa  (13) combined for 28 markers for NU, which jumped to 4-8 to keep its Final Four bid alive.

Nic Cabanero went all out as he chalked 19 points while Mo Tounkara backed him up with 15 points along with 18 rebounds which put in waste for the Growling Tigers.

UST endured its seventh loss for a 5-7 card, making it a much tighter race for fourth place with Adamson (4-7) and FEU (4-8) lurking behind.

The Scores:

DLSU (58) – M. Phillips 17, Macalalag 9, Dungo 8, Quiambao 8, Marasigan 4, David 3, Gonzales 3, Austria 2, Ramiro 2, Agunanne 2, Gollena 0, Konov 0. 
FEU (53) – Konateh 14, Pre 12, Alforque 11, Pasaol 11, Anonuevo 3, Daa 2, Montemayor 0, Bagunu 0, Ona 0, Nakai 0, Bautista 0. 

Quarterscores: 10-19, 28-26, 40-41, 58-53