Call him microwave
Like the microwave oven that instantly heats up, rookie Joaquin Tovera announced that he is the best fit to plug the hole created by the departure of Kean Baclaan after he had helped the La Salle Green Archers to the UAAP men’s basketball title last year.
Twenty-two points and three steals in just 14 minutes off the bench clearly showed the potential of Tovera to be the future go-to-guy of the Archers, who scored an 89-87 nipping of hard-fighting National University that had La Salle’s title-retention bid getting off on the right foot at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
And he even admitted to being jittery at first.
“At first I was nervous, but when I stepped on the court, I just wanted to show what I got,” Tovera, a former Gilas Youth standout, said. “It was a great experience.”
Tovera’s great first game also cushioned the impact of star Archer Jacob Cortez’s struggles, as the heady guard finished with just nine points on a 3-for-10 shooting.
“Him (Tovera) scoring that much and contributing a lot on both ends helped us a lot,” coach Topex Robinson said. “Having a young guy [playing well] together with our veterans is really going to be a big help for us moving forward.”
While it was Doy Dungo who saved the Archers from trouble in the payoff period when he extended his squad’s lead over the vengeful Bulldogs to four, 88-84, with 50 seconds remaining, it was Tovera who gave La Salle some cushion entering the fourth.
The Archers led, 64-60, with 1:24 left in the third before the Tovera, who was also recruited by University of the Philippines, unloaded a personal 9-4 blitz to give the defending champions a 73-64 lead heading into the final period.
Luis Pablo and Dungo helped La Salle with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The pair of Tebol Garcia and Kenshin Padrones tallied 14 points each in leading the Bulldogs, with Mo Diassana scoring 12 points and grabbing the same number of rebounds in the loss.
Earlier, Adamson spoiled what would have been a great opening act from host Far Eastern, as Monty Montebon scored 18 points in leading the Falcons to a 56-53 victory that officially opened the Season 89 games.
Mat Edding helped the Falcons with 10 points, while Precious Jonah had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Janrey Pasaol, the reigning league MVP, was held to only 11 points in the FEU loss, but it was rookie Cabs Cabonillas who shone on his debut for the Tamaraws with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
