One Day Later: UP vs UST, ADU vs DLSU

It's back to the drawing board for State U, as they lose their third in a row (pic source)

UST 77 - UP 70
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Player of the Game : Karim Abdul turned in his second straight 21 point game, taking out Alinko Mbah early to really rule the paint in the first part of the game. He also added 11 rebounds and three assists in his 30 minute stint. Abdul's only problem so far is his shooting percentage, making just 40.79 percent of his shots despite being the biggest guy on the line-up for the Tigers.

UP Positives :

• UP avoided another blowout, getting back late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately, their comeback fell short. That said, it was a lot better effort than their previous two games which were over long before the fourth quarter. 
• After turning in some poor performances in their previous games, Mike Silungan and Mike Gamboa finally snapped out of their funks. Silungan had 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks (though he was 3 of 12 from downtown, finishing 8 for 18 overall). Gamboa on the other hand, had made just 3 of 24 triples, after their season-opener, but in this game, shot all his attempts from the outside, making 6 of 11 treys to finish with 18 points. 
• The Maroons turned in a season-high 23 assists, fighting the zone put up by UST with ball movement.

UP Negatives :

• While Gamboa and Silungan are finding their groove again, Jett Manuel and Jelo Montecastro have lost theirs. Manuel had just six points on 3 of 12 shooting and is only 6 of 31 in their past three. Montecastro on the other hand, had a season-low three points, making just a paltry field goal in seven tries.

UST Positives :

• The Tigers's defense forced UP into taking 32 triples, of which they made just nine, for 28.1 percent shooting. 
• On the other end of the court, UST's aggressive attitude earned them 24 freethrows, of which they made 19. UP got to the line just 11 times, making five.

UST Negatives :

• UST was unable to stop UP from getting out and running this time, scoring 19 transition points on 13 attempts. That's closer to their average of 11.75 fastbreak attempts allowed and 14.75 fastbreak points given up.

High jumper - Nuyles' hops saved the game for Adamson on both ends of the court (pic source)

ADU 68 - DLSU 66
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Player of the Game : Mad hops? Alex Nuyles. Nuyles may have missed all five of his triple attempts, but the springy forward still finished shooting 50 percent for 14 points, a tally that included his game-winning jumper. He also added nine rebounds, five assists and a block and a steal. Plus, he managed to disrupt Almond Vosotros' desperation oop attempt to Luigi Dela Paz on the last play of the game, sealing the victory for Adamson.

ADU Positives :

• Do you really need to ask? 24 to 2 second quarter ought be enough. The Falcons held the Archers to just 1 of 14 shooting in the ten minute span, and gave up only two free throws, both of which were missed. It was La Salle's second two-point quarter output, after scoring just two as well in the third period against NU in the first round.
• Adamson was able limit La Salle to just 10 turnover points, after they entered the game norming 18. On the other side, they scored 15 turnover points of their own, beating the Archers at their own game.
• Reserve center Rodney Brondial had a huge game, filling in for the foul-stricken Austin Manyara. Brondial got six points, but more importantly, 12 rebounds, helping prevent the La Salle bigs from dominating.

ADU Negatives :

• On the flipside, the Falcons themselves were subject to a huge scoring drought in the fourth quarter, held to just 6 of 16 shooting, without a single free throw.
• Adamson made all four of their triples in the second quarter, unable to keep up the pressure from outside in the other periods.

DLSU Positives :

• I've been a huge fan of Almond Vosotros since last season, so I'm glad he was able to get an opportunity here to shine, and boy did he deliver. Vosotros scored 18 points in 18 minutes, hitting two huge triples to keep La Salle in the game, and then assisting on the Dela Paz triple that tied things up at 66-all. 
• La Salle's fourth quarter 27-12 rally had them shooting 10 of 18 from the field, three of five from downtown. Of their 27 points, the Archers got eight from fastbreaks, and six off turnovers, categories DLSU is used to dominating

DLSU Negatives :

• Zone offense. Or rather, the Archers have no zone offense, a fact everyone knows by now.
• LA Revilla has been limited in the past three games, going from 27 minutes in their first five outings to 22.67 minutes. His production has also dropped off a cliff to just two points, 3.33 rebounds, and four assists in that same period (though he managed eight dimes versus UST). Could this be related to his medical condition? 
• It may be just me but Dan Sara's insertion on to the playing court seems to trigger huge runs by the opponent. 
• As much as people seem to like the revamped starting line-up of AVO, Yutien Andrada, Maui Villanueva, Joseph Marata and LA Revilla, that quintet scored just 19 points.

UAAP Picking Record: 24-8