Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — With 33.9 seconds left on the clock, La Salle guard Josh Torralba carved his name into the minds of Lasallians after hitting a cold-blooded triple to give his side a 77-76 lead over rivals Ateneo on the way to a crucial win to end the first round.
The 80-76 victory came on the heels of a humbling defeat to the UST Growling Tigers, and, according to Torralba, this will serve as a massive lift for his side in the next round.
“It’s obviously a big big confidence booster,” said Torralba. “But then again we got to be careful with it because we don’t want to get cocky or have too much self esteem.”
The Taft-based squad was down by as much as 15 markers in the first half, before finally shifting into high gear and erasing their opponent’s lead.
“We’ve been trying to look for that, have that right click throughout the first round,” said the young guard. “We’re sharing the ball and having fun, it’s a beauty to watch and it’s also fun to play.”
“We haven’t felt like this for awhile.”
Torralba also believes that La Salle is entering the second round as a much stronger squad than when they started the season, citing their development mentally and in terms of chemistry.
“(We have improved) mentally and (in terms of) chemistry, the chemistry is there,” he said.
The Green Archers end the first round with a 4-3 record and are hoping to consolidate their hold on a spot in the final four in the second round.
Related: Teng helps La Salle complete comeback against Ateneo
