Archers destroy Knights, march straight to semis

With No. 2 seeding on the line, EcoOil-La Salle won out in a physical battle with [email protected] Striker-Letran Thursday night, 102-79, in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City ,where the Green Archers continued to show improvement, especially in the mental aspect of the game.

Kevin Quiambao scored 28 points that went with 13 rebounds, leading the Archers in closing out eliminations with a 5-1 record, tied with Marinerong-Pilipino San Beda, which will advance to the playoffs as the top seed by virtue of its win over La Salle.

The final score didn’t reflect the physicality of the game as both benches got rowdy with complaints and got technical fouls as a result.

“We can’t take Letran lightly and we really need to stay the course knowing that Letran will play physical,” assistant coach Gian Nazario said. “Nothing against the way they play, it works for them. As a coach you just have to prepare your team mentally.”

Save for that loss to the Red Lions, La Salle has been dominant except for flashes of complacency.

“We’re not thinking about who we will face next. At this point, our bigger enemy is ourselves,” Nazario said.

Letran finished with a 3-3 record and will battle Centro Escolar, while Perpetual Help and PSP Gymers tangle in separate quarterfinal series where the higher-ranked teams need to win just once to advance.

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