For the UP Fighting Maroons, their long national nightmare is over.
After two straight seasons of silver medals, the men’s basketball team has finally secured its spot at the top of the mountain as the Season 87 champions, dethroning the La Salle Green Archers and reclaiming the title in a nail-biter finals series.
The title went home to Diliman after State U outwore La Salle during the closely fought Finals Game 3, 66-62, in front of 25,248 spectators at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night. The Taft-based squad forced a rubber match by handing the Maroons a 75-76 loss on Wednesday.
“It was tough, especially with a team like La Salle. They have a strong program,” Coach Goldwin Monteverde told reporters after the game. “We needed to take away the doubt. Yung belief namin sa sarili namin, binalik namin.”
Mythical Five player JD Cagulangan was hailed Finals MVP, finishing the series with an average of 13.66 points, 4.33 rebounds, and 4.66 assists. This is Cagulangan’s graduating season with the Maroons.
Control over the last match ultimately came down to the final frame, which saw King Archer Kevin Quiambao level the playing field with a triple before a quick answer by Quentin Millora-Brown, 58-56. La Salle’s Joshua David capped off the Archers’ 18-4 run with a deuce to tie the match again, 58-all.
But the game was not a foregone conclusion, as former Rookie of the Year Francis Lopez—who choked on four key foul shots which ultimately decided Game 2—was able to score an all-important three with less than two minutes left in the game. This shot ultimately gave UP what it needed to keep the game out of reach for La Salle, 64-60.
The one-and-done QMB ultimately sealed the Archers’ fate, sinking both of his charities and locking the game to its final score, 66-62, as La Salle’s EJ Gollena missed both of his free throw attempts.
Team captain Gerry Abadiano scored 7 points in a row for the alma mater and gave the Maroons their biggest lead in the third frame, 54-40. But La Salle then tried to regain control with a run that extended into the fourth, getting as close as 6 points by the end of the third quarter, 56-50.
UP sustained an early lead for much of the opening frame before a series of five lead changes took place—the Maroons only stayed above water by virtue of Lopez and QMB nailing their free throws. A back-to-back-and-one from Mike Phillips and a two from Quiambao gave La Salle its biggest lead of the match, 16-10.
It was mostly Phillips’ dominance that kept the Maroons at bay for the entire game, with the 6-foot-8 giant contributing 18 points for La Salle.
An 11-0 run from UP put the team briefly back on top, and a dunk shot from Lopez tilted the advantage back by one, 17-16. But it did not take long until La Salle closed the gap—with Doy Dungo’s layup, the game was brought to a deadlock in the last two seconds of the first quarter, 21-all.
The Maroons bounced back in the second period, maintaining control over the ball and finding its groove with a 7-0 run, led by Cagulangan and QMB.
The second quarter also saw Reyland Torres score his sole double, 31-26. Torres was ejected from the court during Game 2 after incurring two unsportsmanlike fouls, but was ultimately allowed to play in the final match-up by the commissioner, who cited a similar case with an Adamson player during the second round of eliminations.
UP’s 21-point command against La Salle’s 15 during the quarter placed the Maroons in a more secure position by halftime, 42-36. The second quarter is the only period where State U definitively dominated, and it was La Salle’s inability to make up the deficit in the latter half that led to Sunday’s outcome.
UP may have come up short on three-pointers, only scoring four out of 20 (20%) against La Salle’s six out of 22 (27.3%), but the Maroons ultimately made up for it by being substantially stronger on the stripe. State U scored 14 successful free throws out of a possible 17 (82.4%), in contrast to La Salle’s 12 out of 28 (42.9%).
QMB led the Maroons to victory, posting a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Lopez and Cagulangan contributed 12 points each, with Lopez taking home 11 boards and six dimes.
“Wala akong ibang masabi kung di thank you,” Cagulangan said during the postgame press conference. “Sobrang happy ako na napunta ako sa programa na ito.”
UP (66)
Millora-Brown 14, Lopez 12, Cagulangan 12, Abadiano 9, Alarcon 7, Fortea 4, Stevens 4, Torres 2, Ududo 2, Felicilda 0, Bayla 0, Torculas 0.
DLSU (62)
Phillips 18, Quiambao 13, David 6, Macalalag 6, Agunanne 5, Ramiro 5, Austria 3, Gollena 2, Rubico 2, Dungo 2, Marasigan 0, Gonzales 0.
QUARTER SCORES
21-21, 42-36, 56-50, 66-62. ●
