Van Opstal doubtful for La Salle's PCCL opener

MANILA, Philippines – Center Arnold Van Opstal may not be able to suit up for UAAP champions De La Salle in their first game of the 2013 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) against the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras on Monday.

The Green Archers, already seeded in the Final Four of the tournament after winning the UAAP crown, will take on the Southern champions in the first game of the round-robin semi-finals.

But they may have to do so without Van Opstal, who suffered an injury in practice and is considered day-to-day.

“He got bumped or hit by (fellow La Salle big man) Norbert (Torres) in his hip, so he’s recovering from that,” said DLSU head coach Juno Sauler. “He’s day-to-day.”

Van Opstal did not participate in Saturday’s charity game, “Champions for a Cause,” against NCAA champions San Beda – much to the disappointment of Red Lions center Ola Adeogun.

“I was looking forward to my match-up with Van Opstal, but he didn’t play in the game,” said Adeogun. “So maybe next time.”

San Beda and La Salle will face off again on Thursday, December 12 at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ateneo keeps PCCL title hopes alive

MANILA, Philippines – UAAP champions Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles kept their title hopes alive by thrashing the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras in the round robin Final Four of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) on Friday.

The Eagles took advantage of the Cobra’s troubled performance to register a trouble-free 96-78 win against the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) champions.

Greg Slaughter, who was outdueled by Karim Abdul in the Eagles’ 76-66 loss to the UST Tigers, led Ateneo with 18 points, three rebounds and one block.

“We're a little rusty right now, so I think this [win] is good for us,” the 7-foot center said in the post-game interview.

Ateneo, led by Keifer Ravena, unleashed a 14-9 run against SWU in the first quarter.

Benoit Mbalah tried to stop the bleeding for the Cobras, but the Blue Eagles eventually posted a 23-12 advantage by the end of the first period.

Nico Salva and Chris Sumalinog teamed up for Ateneo in the second quarter to further widen the gap to 50-31 at the half.

Although SWU performed better in the third quarter when it outscored Ateneo, 24-22, it continued trailing the UAAP champion, 72-55.

The Cobras tried to maintain their run in the fourth, chopping the deficit down to 14 points, 77-62.

But Slaughter took advantage of his defenders’ foul troubles, scoring 10 points in the final period before the bench took over.

source: abs-cbnnews.com