“I think it’s very important for us to bounce back after a loss against Ateneo,” said head coach Derick Pumaren.

“We can’t let our guard down because UST is coming off two straight wins. I think overall, we did a pretty good job,” he added.

Justine Baltazar commandeered the team with his 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists while Kurt Lojera joined him with 15 points.

DLSU was able to seize the first frame easily but their zone improved in the second quarter with 15 points lead as Baltazar and Lojera jointly scored for the team together with Michael Phillips.

The Growling Tigers tried to retaliate as Joshua Fontanilla and rookie Nic Cabanero marked 20 points each but the team was not able to connect to contribute another twin digits to end the third frame at a 61-44 lead.

La Salle found it hard to maintain the lead at 6:10 minutes on the shot clock in the last frame as the Tiger pinned down the deficit from 17 to nine points. But that was not enough to stop the Archers as they ended its fourth frame win, 75-66.

“The thing I told the boys was how we can bounce back. We have to bounce back hard, and take care of business,” coach Pumaren said.

The Scores:

DLSU 75 – Baltazar 20, Lojera 15, Galman 13, M. Phillips 8, Nelle 4, Austria 4, B. Phillips 4, Nonoy 3, Winston 2, Nwankwo 0. 

UST 66 – Fontanilla 20, Cabanero 20, Manaytay 9, Santos 9, Concepcion 4, Ando 2, M. Pangilinan 2, Garing 0, Manalang 0, Mantua 0, Herrera 0, Yongco 0, Gomez de Liano 0.

Quarters: 23-16, 42-27, 61-44, 75-66.