Ayo-less Archers scrape past Warriors

MANILA, Philippines – The La Salle Green Archers stayed unscathed but nearly got untracked by the fighting University of the East Warriors before posting an 84-78 victory minus coach Aldin Ayo in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the MOA Arena in Pasay yesterday.

But for the first time, the Archers looked vulnerable which didn’t augur well for their highly awaited showdown with archrival the Ateneo Blue Eagles this Sunday.

La Salle survived probably its toughest test thus far – playing without coach Ayo, who was ejected in the second quarter and bucking the Warriors’ fightback to clinch the six-point win and stretch their win run to six.

But the expected result came at a huge cost for DLSU as Ayo faces likely suspension in the Archers’ clash with the Eagles as an offshoot of his action.

Ayo was sent off with 1:12 to go in the second period after trying to put a pair of eyeglasses on referee Eric Viray in protest of a non-call.

“It was tough that coach Aldin was thrown out of the game due to unlikely circumstances. But we just stuck together and followed the system and with God’s blessing we’re able to get the win,” said Prince Rivero, who teamed up with Andrei Caracut in quelling UE’s late uprising.

Rivero banged in six of his 11 points in the final quarter while Caracut fired all of his nine points to help DLSU take an 81-74 cushion after UE came to within four.

Assistant Louie Gonzales took over for Ayo, who found ways to relay instructions to the team.

“Nawala man siya physically, he’s still out there with us all throughout the game giving some instructions. His energy was still with us; we knew he did it to protect us from what’s happening in the game,” said Rivero.

“It was a test of character for us as a team. We stuck together, continued working and didn’t give up,” he added.

Ben Mbala led DLSU with 19.

Earlier, Ateneo offset a third-quarter letdown with a big finishing kick to post a 79-64 demolition of University of the Philippines and grab solo second behind La Salle.

Thirdy Ravena fired eight of his career-high 22 in the fourth quarter as the Blue Eagles put the game beyond the reach of the Maroons with a 21-10 exchange en route to their second straight win and 4-2 overall.

“We had some rough patches, we also had some stretches where we played well,” said Ateneo assistant Sandy Arespacochaga. “Of course, we want to minimize the rough patches and try to improve every game.”