Mbala suits up anew for Archers vs Falcons

Games today (MOA Arena)

2 p.m. – NU vs UST

4 p. m. – AdU vs DLSU

MANILA, Philippines — Unbeaten La Salle goes full-strength as MVP Ben Mbala returns to the fold to the Green Archers in gunning for a share of pole position against tough Adamson in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament today at the MOA Arena.

Mbala skipped the defending champions’ first two outings due to national team duties with Cameroon and he’s expected to carry his fine form in the Fiba AfroBasket tourney over to his collegiate squad.

“We missed him and we’re excited that he’s coming back, that we’ll finally play with a complete team again. For sure he’s gonna help us a lot as we try to raise our level higher,” said DLSU coach Aldin Ayo, whose wards hurdled Far Eastern (95-90) and National U (115-109) minus Mbala.

The Cameroonian shone bright in the Africa tournament, where he averaged 21.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2 steals on a 31.3 percent clip, and showed his versatility in playing smaller positions as well as improved perimeter shooting.

“When Ben comes in, I can play him 5, 4, 3 or even 2 depending on the schemes. We have 110 plays, we’ll find a way to fit him in there and put him on a position where he’s most comfortable in,” said Ayo.

‘I’m looking forward to play and help the team,” said Mbala. “We’re looking for back-to-back and we know it wouldn’t be easy but we’re prepared for everything.”

Mbala and the Archers are up in the 4 p.m. match against dangerous Adamson (1-1), a contender raring to get back at the team that gave them the boot in last year’s Final Four.

The Falcons actually started their campaign flat, losing to leader Ateneo by 20, but got into the groove with an 88-81 victory over error-prone Santo Tomas.

“It’s a good takeoff point for Wednesday’s game,” AdU coach Franz Pumaren said after getting their first win. “La Salle is still the favored team but we’ll see; hopefully we can compete with them.”

After sitting out their first game, Papi Sarr had returned from injury and is expected to have his hands full against Mbala.

In the first game. National U (1-1) shoots for its second victory as it takes on winless UST (0-2), hoping to draw some positives from its brave showing against La Salle last Saturday.