De La Salle continued its giant-slaying ways, adding Phoenix to the list of professional teams it shot down after coming away with a 104-102 escape in the 2024 Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament on Saturday, July 27, at the USEP Gym in Davao City.

CJ Austria showed nerves of steel and took care of the marginal free throws with 4.7 seconds left to lift the Green Archers to their second straight victory less than 24 hours after also pulling off a stunning upset of Converge.

With the game tied at 102-all, Austria drove hard to the baseline which forced Jason Perkins to commit a blocking foul that sent him to the foul line. He coolly sank the freebies before La Salle dodged a bullet in the Fuel Masters final possession as RJ Jazul’s trey rattled out of the rim.

Austria finished with 13 points while it was Kevin Quiambao who led the way in scoring with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Mike Phillips also continued to prove he can hold his own against the PBA bigs, chipping in a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds. Earl Abadam, the hero of the team’s victory over the FiberXers, had 12 while JC Macalalag added 13.

Jay Mckinnis had his best game so far in the pre-season for Phoenix, dropping 27 points and 18 rebounds and eight blocks.

Missing their services through the first two games, veterans Perkins and RJ Jazul finally played for the Fuel Masters with the former contributing 18 points and the latter adding seven.

Kent Salado was the other double-digit scorer for Phoenix with 14 points.

La Salle ended the preliminaries with a 2-1 record while Phoenix came out winless through three games. The two teams’ participation in the invitational are still part of their build up for their respective season with the Green Archers preparing for their title-defense in the UAAP and the Fuel Masters for the upcoming Governors’ Cup.