The De La Salle Green Archers draws the first blood in their best
of three finals showdown against their arch nemesis and bitter rivals Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles 67-65.
The Green Archers went on a hot and dominant start to open the game with a huge 19-6 lead over Ateneo, though going to the second in the second period La Salle slowed down a little bit giving the Blue Eagles the opportunity to trim the lead down to 26-36 deficit.
In the second half the Blue Eagles continue to cut the lead of La Salle down in the third period and they even went on to take a 10 point lead mid part of the third period. But still the Gree Archers was able to tie the game at 52 to end the third.
Going to the final period the game intensifies as it became a tit for tat battle for both squads, entering the final frame of the game with Ateneo having a 65-64 lead with a few seconds left in the game, but Jeron Teng pushed La Salle up to 66-65 after making sure that his final basket will count Kib Montalbo sealed the game on their side after securing one of his two freethrows,
MVP of the season Ben Mbala led the Green Archers with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Rookie of the Year Aljun Melecio had 12 points, and Jeron Teng added 10 points. Aaron Black was the only Blue Eagle that scored in double figures with 12 points.
Dubbed as the Dream match, the La Salle vs Ateneo Finals game 1 only had 16k gate attendance, which is a tad bit lower than the past game 1 of FEU vs NU in 2014 with 17k and FEU vs UST last year which had 18k gate attendance all were at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The game 2 of the "Dream Match" will be this Wednesday, December 7, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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