Quick Fire: De La Salle Green Archers squeak past FEU Tamaraws in defensive slug fest

(Photo Credit: Marie Dobuyan, Tiebreaker Times)

De La Salle Green Archers def. FEU Tamaraws 75-73

Notable Players:

Ricci Rivero, DLSU (20 points, 4 assists, 5 steals): He's starting to figure it out! Ricci showcased just how freaky athletic he is, attacking passing lanes endlessly and pressuring FEU guards into turnovers. He had three straight fast break plays during the second quarter just off steals. He's going to be very good once he screws his head straight.

Ben Mbala, DLSU (18 points, 17 rebounds): It was a meh game from Ben (by his standards), as he had trouble scoring versus the length of Prince Orizu and Barkley Ebona down low. At the very least, he's starting to find his flow in DLSU's motion offense in the half court.

Jollo Go, DLSU (14 points, 4/5 3FG): If it weren't for his threes in the fourth quarter, we'd be talking about an FEU win and DLSU hitting the panic button already. 

Kenneth Tuffin, FEU (14 points, 2/3 3FG, 4 rebounds): Tuffin was key in FEU's uprising during the fourth quarter, using his shooting to help out the FEU guards penetrating to the rim. He did a good job of taking over for the suspended Arvin Tolentino.

Hubert Cani, FEU (13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists): Finally a good game from Hubert! He made some costly errors down the stretch, but overall he was good for FEU. He didn't force as much shots from the mid-range and was able to limit his turnovers.

Quick Analysis:

- La Salle's been frustrating to watch this season, and even the players themselves know it. No one was in a particularly jovial mood after the game, and you couldn't blame them. They committed a lot of turnovers, and their defense continues to be sub-par. Sub-par is not going to cut it in the long run.

- Offensively, La Salle is starting to show flashes. No longer are they just dumping the ball to Ben and watching him dribble and try to create something. They use Ben's gravity to get them open shots outside, and slowly but surely, movement is being installed within the system. At least there's that.

- Props to FEU for managing to bounce back big time after a poor performance versus Adamson previously. Other than actually managing to shoot threes this time, their defense was on point for the most part as they managed to beat La Salle on rebounds 49-38. They turned it into a defensive slug fest, and they nearly won because of it.

- FEU was terrible in the clutch, however. Cani going isolation only to lose the ball because of a faulty dribble? Not managing to at least get the ball to a player with 2.2 seconds remaining and a chance to either win or tie? FEU's young, so this should be a learning experience for them.