The Green Archers took out the fight out of the UP Fighting Maroons early, sailing to a 82-60 victory over State U last July 26 at the Philsports Arena.

Old reliables James Mangahas paced the Archers with 16 points with veteran Rico Maierhofer, by far the most consistent player this season, contributing 14 points and nine rebounds coming off-the-bench as La Salle romped to its fifth straight victory for a solo second 5-1 card.

Next stop: Pumaren vs. Pumaren 

Rookie Hyram Bagatsing had his first double-digit game in the UAAP with 10 points.

Thus, the Archers and the Tamaraws kept their second and third positions in the team standings behind the front-running Ateneo Blue Eagles.

The Archers are bracing themselves for their first-round encounter against their last year's title victims, the UE Warriors, who is being mentored by coach Franz Pumaren's brother Dindo come August 2. This game will mark the end of the Archers' first round stint.

Pumaren fielded in all the players at his disposal, and they all had their contributions as the Archers sustained their charge after their first-game loss to arch rival Ateneo.

"This is a game where I had the luxury of experimenting some plays. Hopefully, this benefits us down the road," said Pumaren. 

"We face UE next. And hopefully, too, the momentum helps us. They're slowly picking up the pieces as evident in their recent games," Pumaren also said, expecting a battle with the Warriors in their first meeting since their title collision last year.

While the Archers raced to a fifth straight win, the Maroons reeled with their fifth consecutive loss after a winning debut in the season versus the NU Bulldogs.

UP forward Woodward "Woody" Co put in 22 points and 10 rebounds - game-high numbers easily negated by the well-balanced game of the Archers.

The Archers sized up the Maroons early on before imposing their will, enjoying several leads of over 20 points in the final quarter.

THE SCORES:

DLSU 82 - Mangahas 16, Maierhofer 14, Bagatsing 10, Barua 8, Casio 7, Webb 6, Malabes 6, Lee 4, Walsham 2, Villanueva 2, Chandumal 2, Atkins 2, Mendoza 1, Ferdinand 1, Batricevic 1.

UP 60 - Co 22, De Asis 9, Agbayani 8, Braganza 6, Gamboa 5, Reyes 4, Astorga2, Maniego 2, Sorongon 2, Fortu 0, Sison 0, Marfori 0, de la Victoria 0, Hipolito 0

Quarter scores: 17-10; 37-29; 65-45; 82-60