THE DE La Salle Green Archers thrashed UST by 43 points, 99-56, as the Growling Tigers crashed out of Final Four contention in the UAAP Season 79 men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
It was déjà vu for the Tigers who lost by 38 points in their first encounter.
Ben Mbala had another monster game for La Salle with 21 points, 15 boards and five blocks while Justine Baltazar had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
UST sank only 19 of its 69 shot attempts for 27.5 percent as it fell to sixth place with a 3-8 win-loss record.
The Green Archers remained undefeated in 11 games.
“Unang una sabi ko nga sa inyo, lahat ng mga players ng UST ngayon ay puro bench players yan. What do you expect? Wala talagang makuha,” UST head coach Boy Sablan said.
“So every game, kaya marami akong ginagamit na player kasi kailangan may mag-step up.”
Julian Sargent gave La Salle its largest lead at 46, 93-47, after a fastbreak layup in the three-minute mark of the payoff period.
The Tigers kept the game close early in the second period, 21-25, but the Archers surged to a 20-2 lead at halftime. UST scored only eight points during this period while La Salle had 26.
Team captain Louie Vigil was the lone Tiger in double figures with 18 points.
La Salle had a huge 66-35 rebounding advantage and had 32 second chance points off its 26 offensive boards.
The Tigers will face the UP Fighting Maroons on Nov. 6, Sunday, 4 p.m., at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
