FilOil caging: La Salle clinches Last 8 berth with win over rival Ateneo

Ateneo still hasn't found a way to beat La Salle in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Premier League.

LA Revilla, who two years ago was sidelined because of an ailment, provided the clutch baskets as the Green Archers escaped with a 66-61 win over archrival Ateneo to clinch a quarterfinals berth in front of a packed crowd at The Arena in San Juan City. With the Taft-based squad wasting a 12-point lead and losing their Filipino-American center, who got hurt in a rebound play, Revilla erupted for 10 points in the payoff period hitting two consecutive three-pointers down the stretch that sealed La Salle's win. La Salle big man Norbert Torres injured his left elbow when he got entangled with Ateneo's Frank Golla in a rebound play. He was sent to a hospital for observation. Revilla scored an open lay-up off a backdoor play from a Jovet Mendoza pass to put his team up 63-61 with one minute and nine second remaining. He then grabbed a Kiefer Ravena miss and drove to the basket at the other end for a running left-hander, which bounced off the rim twice before dropping in, to extend the lead to 65-61 with 15.8 ticks to go, thus virtually ending yet another down-the-wire clash between two UAAP squads. The victory secured La Salle's entry into the quarterfinals as the Archers ended the elimination round tied with National University at 4-3. They advanced into the knockout stage by virtue of beating the Bulldogs last week. La Salle also kept its perfect record against Ateneo since the launch of this annual preseason cage tournament, having won all of their five games against the Eagles since its inaugural season in 2007. "We made some stops in the last few minutes," said coach Dindo Pumaren. "We struggled offensively in the last four minutes of third but I'm very happy that LA took over." La Salle will face Group B top seed Far Eastern University in the quarterfinals on Monday. The Tamaraws swept all of their eight games to dominate their bracket. Revilla, who missed the last two UAAP seasons because of hyperthyroidism, finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes as a starter while Joseph Marata, who led La Salle's 13-4 start, finished with 10 points. La Salle had its biggest lead at 32-20 in the second period but Ateneo managed to make a run behind Ravena and company. A Bacon Austria buzzer-beating three-pointer ended the third period with the Eagles trailing 49-48. Justin Chua then made two free throws to put Ateneo on top, 50-49, early in the fourth. Revilla answered with back-to-back treys, while Yutien Andrada made a putback to put the Archers back on top, 57-50, with 5:40 to go. Ateneo, though, responded with an 11-4 run with Nico Salva's jumper tying the count at 61-all, 1:25 left. Salva finished with 18 points and seven boards while Ravena added 10 markers, three rebounds, six assists and two steals as the Blue Eagles finished the elims with a 5-2 slate. Ateneo lost their second straight game after a 5-0 start. The loss by the reigning three-time UAAP champions, who recently arrived from a three-week training in the United States, forced them into a three-way tie with NCAA champion San Beda and San Sebastian. San Beda earned the top seeding in Group A because of a superior quotient. The Red Lions, who will play No. 4 University of the Philippines in the quarters, earlier clobbered University of Santo Tomas, 85-72, behind Garvo Lanete's 12 points. Ateneo falls to No. 2 and will play Mapua while San Sebastian, which will face No. 2 Adamson, drops to No. 3. In another seniors' game, Jose Rizal University ended its campaign with an 84-81 win over Adamson for an even 4-4 slate. – JVP, GMA News