Kevin Quiambao delivers rare second triple-double as La Salle repeats over UE

MVP frontrunner Kevin Quiambao delivered his second triple-double to steer De La Salle past feisty University of the East, 86-76, in the second round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday night, Nov. 12, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Final Four-bound Green Archers climbed 9-3 in the standings and bolstered their twice-to-beat bid.

La Salle recovered from its biggest deficit in the second round as it trailed UE, 15-25, in the early goings of the second quarter before finding its footing with a 19-0 counter-attack to greet the halftime with a 49-38 lead.

Sophomore forward Quiambao, who became the first player in five years since CJ Cansino to register a triple-double last Oct. 28, was relentless on both ends of the floor for the second time in a single season.

The 22-year-old Quiambao finished with 17 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists to go with four steals and two blocks.

Quiambao previously lived up to the billing with an all-around brilliance of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists including four steals to lead La Salle past National University.

Meanwhile, Mark Nonoy exploded for a career-best 25 points and connected on a 7-of-11 shooting from outside and nine of 15 overall.

The Green Archers briefly faded in the third quarter as the Red Warriors found their rhythm after Rey Remogat’s five straight points to give UE its first lead of the match, 54-51.

However, Quiambao rushed to his feet and fired one of his own to knot the game at 54-all.

Both squads engaged in a nip-and-tuck affair before La Salle restored order in the final quarter and jumped to its biggest lead of the match, 77-63, behind Nonoy’s back-to-back three-pointers with both assists coming from Quiambao, who at that point has sealed his second triple-double, with 4:54 left to go.

La Salle was pretty much in control the rest of the way.

“I just can’t commend more the guys that really stepped up in this game. Guys were just really having fun and just trying to really be disciplined in what we wanna achieve as a team,” said Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson.

Raven Cortez, who had his breakout game against UE in the first round, also had 11 points.

Meanwhile, Remogat and Precious Momowei connived for the Red Warriors with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Abdul Sawat added 18 points on the losing end.

UE stayed on the brink of elimination with a 4-8 record.

The Scores:

DLSU (86) – Nonoy 25, Quiambao 17, Cortez 11, Policarpio 9, Nelle 7, Austria 6, Escandor 6, Abadam 3, Nwankwo 2, David 0, M. Phillips 0, B. Phillips 0, Macalalag 0, Manuel 0.

UE (76) – Remogat 22, Momowei 21, Sawat 18, Lingolingo 6, Maglupay 4, Cruz-Dumont 3, Tulabut 2, Galang 0.

Quarterscores: 15-15, 49-38, 64-63, 86-76