Kevin Quiambao flirts with triple-double as La Salle escapes UE

Kevin Quiambao flirted with a triple-double as De La Salle recovered from a sluggish first half to escape a gritty University of the East, 83-75, to end the first round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday night, Oct. 21, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Green Archers bounced back from their back-to-back losses and improved with a 4-3 record to end the opening round.

Quiambao delivered an all-around effort of 17 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists, while Raven Cortez top-scored with an 18-point outing.

Evan Nelle, in his return after being sidelined in the previous game, finished with 14 markers on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting from the inside.

Down by a single-point in the fourth period, 62-63, La Salle leaned on its massive 19-7 run for an 81-70 counter, its biggest lead of the match.

Although Ethan Galang took one back with a triple to trim down the deficit, 81-73, with 2:09 remaining in the game.

By the time UE began to stage a last-minute fightback, La Salle came out on top.

“Again, we’re fortunate enough to get this victory. But we didn’t really look well at the start of the ball game. But the guys responded to the challenge, especially Raven. Everybody contributed at the start of the third quarter,” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.

Rey Remogat, who put on a show in the first half with a double-double performance, was limited to only two points in the next half to finish with 13 points and 13 assists.

Abdul Sawat also had 13 points, while Precious Momowei tallied a double-double of 12 markers and 12 rebounds.

The Red Warriors wound up with a 2-5 slate heading into the second round.

The Scores:

DLSU (83) – Cortez 18, Quiambao 17, Nelle 14, Austria 7, Policarpio 7, Nonoy 6, Gollena 5, M. Phillips 4, Macalalag 3, Abadam 2, David 0, Nwamkwo 0, B.

Phillips 0, Manuel 0, Escandor 0.

UE (75) – Remogat 13, Sawat 13, Momowei 12, Galang 10, Cruz-Dumont 9, Gilbuena 7, Tulabut 6, Fikes 3, Alcantara 2, Langit 0, Lingolingo 0.

Quarterscores: 17-19, 37-48, 62-63, 83-75